SWAT Delinquents
by Apathetic Silence
Summary: AU Team Shinobi isn't just a group of soldiers, they're individuals who have special talents - and are delinquets. "Whether you like it or not," he clenched his fists and stepped closer to her. "I'm going to make you fall in love with me." SxS NxH
1. Seven usedtobe Renegades

_Apathetic Silence: About the call signs… well, let's see… I had to go over a few friends who were into Naruto, and picked out the people who took "Naruto Character Quiz" (NCQ), and afterwards, had them take a "Which Military Call Sign Would You Be?" (MCS) one in Facebook. CrAzY-SiLLy-Me always got Sasuke no matter how many times she took the NCQ, and despite the many different NCQs out there, she always got Sasuke. Even in the livejournal community: ninjafy. As for me, I always end up getting Neji, and then I picked out the ones who got Shino, Shikamaru, Lee, Naruto, and Kiba most of the time, and had them take the MCS quiz. My cousin got the Call Sign "Reaper" – thus, Sasuke's call sign in this story. I, sadly and embarrassingly, got "Ma Bell", but it was related to snipers, so I guess it will have to do. Anyway, you probably get how I got the call signs of each character, so, there. Also, it's odd having to call Lee by his last name, but bear with me. Enjoy reading!

* * *

_

**SWAT Delinquents**  
**"**_**Seven used-to-be Renegades"

* * *

**_

Dark colored eyes furrowed while reading the words printed on the file before him.

"Your men are one of the best teams we have to offer."

"I know that but-"

"I won't take no for an answer, Captain Hatake."

"Yes Sir."

"Now then, if I'm not mistaken, your team is actually composed of… troublemakers."

"Don't worry about it sir, this happens to be their fifth mission, and the previous four all ended up in success."

"That's true," the General said. "What type of missions were they?"

"The first two ones were B-ranked, the third one is an A-rank, and the previous one was an S-rank." He looked at the files in his hands. "This will be their second S-rank mission."

"You're quite sure that they will be on their best behaviors?"

"Yes sir."

"Three medics and one radio operator will be joining your team, all of them are girls, Captain," his eyes narrowed. "And I hope your boys' testosterones won't react too much."

"I assure you sir; they are all perfectly disciplined soldiers."

The metallic doors slid open automatically when the camera detected a soldier running towards it.

"Sir..! Trouble at the cafeteria! It's Team Shinobi!"

The General sighed and narrowed his eyes at Kakashi, who only gave a sheepish grin.

* * *

"Whoo! Who else is going to take me?!"

"You're going to get us into trouble again Kiba…"

"Aw who asked you Neji?!"

"Leave it to Naruto to stick with Kiba…"

"Lighten up Shino! It's just arm wrestling!"

"Lee, it's troublesome…"

"Hn. Anything and everything is troublesome for you."

Kiba, Naruto, and Lee only continued with the cheering and taunting as some of the other soldiers were either cheering with them or grumbling because of their lost. Neji, Shikamaru, Shino, and Sasuke just stood by, staring at their teammates and wondering how they ever had them in the same team.

"Are you certain we were picked randomly?"

"That's what they said Neji." Shikamaru yawned. "And you saw me hacking."

"Hn. They can lie about that report though."

"Sasuke's right, we can't trust everything that is written here."

"Point." Neji said with a nod, as Shikamaru just shrugged.

Everyone began to quiet down, leaving Naruto, Kiba, and Lee the only ones making noise.

Their other four teammates turned to where most of the people were looking, and they sighed and stood at attention, afterwards, saluted.

"Uzumaki, Inuzuka, and Rock!"

The three soldiers stiffened and turned abruptly to the authoritative voice, grinned sheepishly and saluted.

"All seven of you, to the General's office, now." He looked at the other soldiers. "As for the rest of you, back to your activities."

* * *

The General eyed all seven of them that stood in front of him, all standing at attention as their captain, Hatake Kakashi, had a disapproving look in his eyes.

"Captain, I must admit, you look too intimidating with that mask on your face, you never take it off."

"Yes sir," He replied. "It helps to keep my men at bay."

"I can clearly see that." He cleared his throat. "However, I need to attend a meeting, so I'll leave you and Shinobi with Lieutenant Colonel Tsunade." He stood up and exited the room as soon as a blonde and busty woman had entered, her gaze having a serious and stern glint in them, yet Naruto and Kiba had their eyes wander to her bosom, which her keen brown eyes caught.

She eyed the name patches on their SWAT vests, and gave a smirk.

"Uzumaki! Inuzuka!"

The five other soldiers took a step back, leaving the mentioned two remaining on their usual spot as Tsunade approached them.

"I heard a great deal about the two of you," She frowned. "You both start trouble all the time, and happen to drag your teammates with you." She sighed. "And clearly, from how you both seemed to eye a certain _body part _of mine, I can already tell what goes through your thoughts." She turned around and glanced back at the team. "As you were." And the five men stepped forward yet again. "Now then, I have been told that this S-rank mission assigned to your team happens to be a retrieval type, so personally, I would rank this as just a B one."

"Ma'am, if this is really just a retrieval type of mission, shouldn't it be ranked as C instead, ma'am?"

"I knew you'd ask me that, Nara, however," She picked up a remote from the General's desk and clicked a button, switching on a hologram before them. "Before you is an image of the area you'll be infiltrating. Though I wouldn't call it as that, since it's an abandoned HQ of a military facility for genetic experiments." She paused for a moment before continuing. "This site has been deserted for three years, so it obviously has no threat, but the jungle you have to go through to get there may be dangerous, and as well-trained soldiers, you know for a fact that weapons are a must-bring for every mission."

She pressed another button. "Most of you will be equipped with the latest rifles that the weapons department had just created and tested, additional to that a single Desert Eagle. Two of you, namely Aburame and Nara, will only be given two handguns, while Hyuuga will be requested to bring two sniper rifles of his choice. The rest of you are permitted to bring along one more weapon which you desire and feel to bring, and all of you are required to equip yourselves with combat knives, one smoke bomb, one grenade, and as many ammunitions as possible."

"Ma'am," Kakashi spoke. "Clearly a jungle should not pose so much threat to require us to bring a lot of ammos."

"The General told me that it was an order, not an advice."

"Yes ma'am."

"Now then, Aburame and Nara, the former being an expert at navigation and landscapes, and the latter a genius for technology, the two of you were only ordered to bring two handguns, for the rest will be serving as your protection and cover. Aburame, being the highest ranking soldier of your team, you are second-in-command. As for Nara, you'll be the brains behind the group." She turned to the door. "Accompanying your team, Captain Hatake, will be one radio operator," a girl came in, a smile on her face and her brown hair in two buns. "And three medics," two dark-haired girls and one pink-haired girl came in, their hair let down. "Tenten is the radio operator, Lieutenant Yuuhi Kurenai is the head medic, and Corporals' Hyuuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura are the assisting medics."

Tsunade looked back at the team.

"Every single one of you must protect them at all costs, also," her eyes narrowed. "Boys, these women are single, and I wish for them to remain as that when you come back, understood?"

"Yes ma'am!" they all answered.

"And of course, that includes NOT being pregnant, and also, they must all remain virgins. Clear?"

"…Yes ma'am."

"Good. Your mission starts tomorrow at 0400 hours. A helicopter will be taking you about a mile or so away from the site, since there are no clear landings near the place or within the HQ. The rest will be explained by your Captain tomorrow during the trip." She looked at Kakashi who gave a nod, and then back at the team. "Dismiss."

* * *

Kiba whistled and plopped onto his bed. "Hey Neji, is the other medic a relative of yours?"

"She's my cousin." Neji said, taking a seat on his own bed.

"No wonder, you both had the same last names, and eyes!" Naruto said from the bed above Kiba's. "Right bastard?"

"Hn, go to sleep." Sasuke said from above Neji's bed. "We need to wake up early the next day."

"Ugh, my back's killing me." Lee groaned, stretching, and the rest could hear a crack. "There, much better!" he said, lying down on his bed, the one nearest to the door. "You sure you're all packed?"

"Yeah." Shino replied glancing down at Shikamaru who yawned. "What about your laptop?"

"It's in my bag, relax." Shikamaru shrugged. "And Naruto, Kiba," He called out, looking at them. "Please try not to snore."

Lee got back up and switched off the lights as soon as he saw everyone lying down. "Night guys!"

Different responds were said, and finally, it was quiet inside their room.

* * *

He glanced at his watch, and then at the doors that led to the plane.

"They must take after you Captain Hatake."

Kakashi smiled sheepishly at the blonde woman, and then turned to the four girls who were to accompany him and his team. "I apologize on their behalf…"

"They're here." Hinata pointed out quietly, seeing the team running towards them, some putting on their navy blue military jackets and black SWAT vests, while some hopped on one leg to tighten the knots of their boots, and the rest were fixing the straps of their bags and rifles.

"Good gracious…" Tsunade groaned, slapping a hand against her forehead as Kakashi stiffened from the glare she sent him. "This is not a very good impression Captain."

"Ah, yes…" Kakashi sighed and then narrowed his eyes at his team.

The team took note of this and instantly stood at attention, their right hands rising to salute their superiors, bringing them back down when Tsunade nodded.

"Explain." Kakashi said.

"The lazy ass here-"

"Don't go blaming me Naruto, it was Kiba who-"

"No! It was Lee!"

"So unyouthful! I am not to be accused! It was Neji!"

Neji sighed and muttered a few coherent words under his breath.

"One at a time!" Tsunade snapped. "Hyuuga, explain."

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Ask them, Sasuke just woke me up."

"Hn. Shino."

"…Kiba."

"We're going nowhere! Will someone please just say what caused your tardiness?!" Tsunade growled.

"…The alarm." They all said simultaneously.

"Well, next time, don't be dependent on it!" Tsunade scolded. "Thanks to you seven men, you're all behind schedule! Have you no shame?! You made your Captain and these four ladies wait for two hours! _TWO WHOLE HOURS_!"

The team just remained silent, and Tsunade muttered something they couldn't understand, so Kakashi sighed and took over.

"I'll think of some way to get you guys to make up for this, but for now, we have to go." He pointed at the huge plane behind him. "I'll explain the rest of the details on the way."

"Yes sir." They boarded the plane, and Tsunade watched as the aircraft disappeared from view.

"_Good luck to you, team Shinobi."_ She frowned. _"You may need it."

* * *

_

Kiba eyed the girls who all sat next to each other, and next to them was Shino, and then their team Captain, Kakashi. At the very end, where the entrance and exit of the plane was, sat Tenten, the radio operator – and she was adjacent to the team's sniper, Hyuuga Neji. Next to Neji stood Uchiha Sasuke, Neji's cover at most times, and also partner - and he sat opposite of the pink-haired medic whose name Kiba forgot. Next to the pink-haired girl was Neji's cousin, Hinata, who was blushing, and Kiba knew it was because the girl had a little thing for Naruto, who was apparently next to Sasuke, grinning like an idiot as always. Next to Naruto was him, and opposite of him was Shino, and then next to Shino was Kurenai, who sat opposite of Lee, and next to Kurenai was Kakashi, who sat opposite of Shikamaru.

"So…" He began. "It's still a pretty long journey, right Captain?"

"That's right."

"Maybe we can… get to know each other better? I mean, if we plan on working together."

"Hm? Well, you're right about that, go ahead." Kakashi nodded, and then looked at Kurenai with a grin. "Nice to see you again Kurenai."

"I didn't think I'd have the honor of being put into your team." She commented. "I heard they're one of the bests."

"No point denying that." Kakashi admitted. "Boys, introductions, if you please, let's start with you Shino."

"Aburame Shino – the expert at navigation and landscapes. Call sign is Snapper."

"Next, Shikamaru, and then Lee, and so on." Kakashi instructed.

"Nara Shikamaru, labeled as the brains of the group. My call sign is Redshirt." He yawned. "Particularly because I'd rather negotiate than start a war."

"Odd for a soldier…" Kurenai commented, and Shikamaru just shrugged.

"Rock Lee is my name! I am known as the brawns of the team!" he winked and gave a thumb's up. "My call sign is Biohazard!"

"Inuzuka Kiba," he grinned. "I have a deep understanding for animals of all kinds, but my specialties are dogs. Call sign is Tigger."

"Uzumaki Naruto, believe it!" The blonde exclaimed, missing the blush Hinata sent. "I'm pretty much good at fighting! I've been positioned as a frontline soldier for most missions! Call sign is Archangel!"

"Hn. Uchiha Sasuke, Eidetic memory – or known as photographic memory." He looked up at the medic before him. "Call sign is Reaper."

"Hyuuga Neji, perfect vision and marksmanship. Call sign is Ma Bell." He narrowed his eyes at Tenten who giggled. "It's the price I have to pay for being a sharp shooter."

"No, it's because of your hair! Man, get a haircut!" Naruto said. "I can't believe the military even allows you and Shikamaru to have long hair! And don't get me started on yours, bastard!"

"If you do, it's like you're also insulting our Captain's hair that also defies gravity." Sasuke countered.

"Ah, right." Naruto sighed. "But anyway! How about you girls?" he grinned.

"Just a radio operator," Tenten saluted playfully with her pointer and middle finger. "But give me any type of weapon and I'm sure to use it properly."

"Not much to say about me, but I can handle a hand gun." Sakura said sheepishly.

"Same here." Hinata said.

"But what they lack in combat, they can make up in the medicine field." Kurenai said. "These two are my best medics."

"Interesting…" Shikamaru commented, just to keep the conversation going. "And what about you, Lieutenant Yuuhi?"

"I'm your Captain's former teammate."

"…Now _that_ is interesting." Kiba chuckled.

"Now, now _Tigger_, don't go _bouncing _to conclusions." Kakashi said, remaining calm.

"Cut the wisecracks about my call sign!"

"Welcome to my world." Neji muttered.

"If I may…" Hinata asked meekly. "I know about my cousin being here, but is it true that you're a… _special_ team?"

Shinobi was silent for a moment, and Kakashi eyed each one of their reactions.

Neji closed his eyes as he and Sasuke gave a smirk. Lee, Naruto, and Kiba broke intro grins, Shikamaru gave a lazy smile, and Shino lifted his head up a bit.

"Yeah, we are." Naruto nodded. "We're one heck of a team."

"Why? You each have individual talents no other men have?" Sakura asked, curiosity getting the best of her.

"In a way," Kiba answered. "I mean, our talents aren't that rare, save for Sasuke's, since he can remember something or someone perfectly well with just one glance, but we're kind of… enhanced."

"Um… how so?" Tenten asked.

Kakashi cleared his throat and got up, his right hand grabbing a hand rail to keep his balance. "As much as I'd like for you to continue your conversation, we're getting close to our destination, so back to business." He turned serious. "Shinobi, the girls are not trained for a drop-off, therefore, we'll be assisting them." He looked at the boys who were supposed to assist a girl. "Hyuuga, take care of Tenten, Uchiha, you're with Sakura, Uzumaki, Hinata goes with you," he turned to Kurenai. "And to keep things from growing awkward between subordinate and officer, you go with me."

"Yes sir." The boys answered, unbuckling their seat belts when the pilot of the plane announced that they were nearing drop off point.

"We've got ourselves a problem here sir," The pilot said. "We were ordered to drop you off from about three to four thousand meters, but circumstances won't allow us."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes and glanced at the pilot. "What's our status?"

"Heavy clouds, if I fly lower, it may interfere with your dive."

"Alright, how high should we jump off?"

"Six thousand meters."

"SIX THOUSAND?!" Exclaimed the girls.

"Well, this is… something we're not trained for." Shikamaru said, yawning. "Troublesome."

"You have got to be kidding!" Tenten said.

"Nope." Lee scratched the back of his head. "This is our first time to be dropped off at six thousand meters."

"Oh come on!" Sakura cried, gripping onto the hand rails since they were all already on their feet. "We're not ready for this!" she blushed when she felt Sasuke's arms wrap around her waist to pull her against him. "U-um… Sergeant..?"

"Hn. You have to buckle up," He secured the strap around her, which connected her to him. "And don't worry," He pulled down his night-vision goggles that have been resting on his head. "An increase in drop-off height is a lot better than a decrease of it," He shrugged. "It makes landing a lot easier."

"That's right." Neji assured, also wrapping the strap around Tenten. "And besides, we'll keep you girls safe."

Naruto grinned at a blushing Hinata.

"Now that that's settled," Kakashi motioned for the singles to go ahead. "Time to show the medics and radio operator what you've got," he lowered his goggles. "Let's move!"

As soon as the door opened, Kiba gave a two-finger salute, pulled down his goggles, and dived head first, followed by Lee, Shikamaru, Shino, and then Neji, Sasuke, Naruto, and lastly, Kakashi – the girls strapped to them safely.

"Whoo! Yeah baby!" Kiba yelled, his teammates smirking and grinning from his enthusiasm.

"Parachutes at two thousand five hundred meters." Kakashi ordered through their communicators.

"Roger." Came the team's replies.

Sasuke glanced at Sakura who was gripping onto his arms tightly.

"…I'm starting to not feel my arms, you know?"

"I… I can't help it! I'm afraid of heights!"

"I figured," He murmured. "But relax," his grip around her tightened, and her cheeks flushed. "Look, I'll at least keep one arm around you the whole time, how's that?"

"…O-okay…"

"Hey bastard, if I didn't know you better, I'd say you're taking advantage of the situation."

"Usaratonkachi."

Naruto chuckled at Sasuke's predicament and turned to Hinata. "How are you holding up?"

"I-I'm fine, sort of…"

"You're pretty brave!"

"T-thank you."

"Okay guys," Kakashi spoke, the girls hearing his words through their own communicators. "Time to open up your chutes..."

They all did, but Kakashi caught Naruto and Hinata still free-falling.

"Archangel, what's going on?!"

"Something's wrong! Hinata's strap won't let me open my chute!"

"What?!"

"Ugh. Crap." Naruto cursed, trying to tug on the string. "Shit, Hinata!" he felt her separating from him, and he noticed that the strap that kept her to him had loosened, and Hinata was falling a lot faster than he was.

"Tch. Naruto, keep diving," Sasuke instructed since he was nearer to them compared to the others. "Hinata, remain at free-fall position."

Naruto did what he was told and Hinata tried to remain calm despite the situation she was in.

"Hinata, grab my arm!" she turned to see Naruto extending out his right arm, and when Hinata managed to grab a hold of it, Naruto opened his chute, just in time since they were nearing the ground, but it wasn't enough to keep them in the air, so they ended up crash landing, Naruto immediately wrapping his arms around Hinata and twisting their bodies so that he'd receive more of the impact.

Due to their positions and the sudden landing, Hinata's lips ended up on Naruto's, and their eyes went wide as they stared, pulling away only when the others have reached the ground.

"Hinata!" Neji called, rushing to her and helping her up. "You alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." Hinata assured, blushing and avoiding eye contact from Naruto, who was as red as she was.

"Damn it Naruto!" Neji pushed the blonde. "What were you-"

"Cool it." Sasuke said, placing a hand on Neji's shoulder and keeping him away from Naruto. "She's safe, don't worry."

Neji eyed Naruto for a few moments before sighing and giving a nod.

Kakashi quickly went to Naruto while Kurenai checked Hinata.

"What happened?"

"Sir, I didn't know what went wrong!"

Kakashi gave a nod and did a head count before calling the team's attention. "We're about half a mile or so away from the abandoned HQ, we're currently in a jungle, and as you can see, the trees and bushes are thick, there could be wild animals present, so it's better to stick to your partners and keep the girls safe, clear?"

"Yes sir."

Kakashi led the way next to Lee, with Kurenai right behind them and Hinata next to her. Shino and Shikamaru were behind the two girls, and then came Sakura and Tenten, and then Sasuke and Neji, and lastly, Naruto and Kiba.

"Hey, do you think there are lions, or maybe snakes here?"

"Don't know Naruto, but it's possible."

"Holy shit Kiba! There's a snake around your neck!"

"What?! WHERE?!"

And Naruto burst out laughing.

"Damn you, that wasn't funny!"

"You're such a baby Kiba!"

Sasuke and Neji twitched and glanced at them.

"Idiots are at it again…" Sasuke muttered.

"What do you expect? They're idiots."

They tried ignoring Kiba and Naruto, but they eventually got fed up and stopped walking.

"If you two won't shut the fuck up," Sasuke began, turning to them with a glare. "I'll shoot your sorry asses."

"Morons." Neji grunted, also glaring at them.

"Ah geez, the two party poopers." Kiba murmured.

"Grouches…" Naruto added.

When the "grouches" finally received the silence they wanted, they both pushed their goggles up, letting the gadget rest on their heads.

Tenten and Sakura looked behind them to ask something, but ended up turning a bit red and looking back up front.

"Sakura…"

"I know Ten," Sakura whispered back. "I know…"

Tenten forced herself not to look back at Neji, since he looked pretty good back there with a few strands of his hair falling to his face. On the other hand, Sakura couldn't stop herself from looking back at Sasuke, thinking how cute he was with his bangs away from his face, giving her a good view of the details of his nose, lips, and especially the eyes; the few strands though that somewhat covered some parts of his face only added to his good looks, and she blushed when he looked at her.

"What?"

"H-huh?" she said back.

He raised a brow. "You've been staring for quite a while and it's irking me a bit."

"Oh, s-sorry…" she looked back up front.

Neji elbowed Sasuke, causing the younger soldier to look at him.

"She's got it bad for you."

"Hn, very funny."

"Not kidding here Uchiha," Neji whispered. "I can tell."

"Can we not have this conversation?"

"Why not?"

"It's… awkward."

"Whatever you say," Neji smirked, looking around. "Don't you think this mission is odd?"

"Hn. I was hoping you'd say something about it."

"Why?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Call it gut instincts."

Neji glanced at him. "What do you think?"

"Something's not right," He said. "It's the same as how I felt back then, before I was forced to be a soldier."

Sakura and Tenten looked back at them, catching their attention.

"Is this place dangerous..?" Tenten asked.

Neji and Sasuke exchanged looks, before giving a reassuring half-smirk.

"Relax," Neji began. "We're trained to be ready for anything."

"Okay troopers," Kakashi called them, stopping to look at his team. "We've reached a bridge, and it doesn't look sturdy."

Team Shinobi and the girls eyed the swinging bridge, and noted how there were a lot of thin vines surrounding it, and how the ropes that held it together were close to snapping off.

"So, as Captain, I'll go first to check it out." He lowered his goggles. "Given the current time and situation, it's too foggy, so our goggles will have to aid us, as well as our bravery."

Kakashi walked slowly – each step he made could lead him to his death if he was not careful, and he made sure that the next step would still be safe.

It took more than five minutes to cross the bridge, and he told his team to move in pairs.

"Alright, Shino, Tenten, go." Sasuke said.

Shino picked up his bag and led Tenten to the bridge, both having no trouble in crossing.

"Kiba, Shikamaru, you're next."

The two stopped when they reached the middle since the bridge begun to swing a bit, but they continued once it has settled.

"A little bit of warning," Shikamaru said through his communicator. "Somewhere in the middle, two boards have fallen off, so you'll have to jump over it to cross."

"Got it." Sasuke turned to Neji, who nodded and took Hinata with him.

"One, two, three…" Neji counted the steps. "The two boards Shikamaru was talking about are on the 41st and 42nd."

Next were Naruto and Kurenai, who managed to jump over the two missing boards successfully, leaving Sasuke, Sakura, and Lee.

"You two go on ahead." Lee said.

Sasuke nodded and glanced at Sakura, who swallowed and then gave a nod to him. He led the way, stopping once he reached the 40th step. "I'll go ahead, alright?"

"Sure." Sakura said, watching as he hopped to the 43rd step, and offered her an arm. "It's okay, I can… manage." She assured.

He lowered his arm and waited, raising a brow when she still hasn't jumped.

"Could you… step back?"

He did, and she inhaled and exhaled a bit, before jumping, tripping at the process but Sasuke caught her in time, and his nose inhaled the scent of her hair. _"Tch. Focus." _He thought to himself, feeling distracted from the smell. "You alright..?"

"Y-yeah." She stammered, blushing.

"Sasuke," Kakashi called. "You better hurry, the vines are beginning to snap."

"Tch. Lee," Sasuke called out. "Come on, hustle."

"Got it." Lee replied, rushing on.

"Let's go." Sasuke told Sakura, leading the way again, until the bridge began to swing once more, and Sakura clung onto the rope rails.

"Shit, Sasuke! Hurry!" Neji said. "The vines! We can't hold onto-"

_SNAP!_

They heard Lee cry out the moment the bridge gave way, and Sasuke had to grab onto the remaining vine that kept it in place, only to curse when Sakura fell off, so he jumped after her and extended out his left arm, shooting a string from the wrist band he had on. The string wrapped around a branch of a tree as he successfully caught Sakura and extended out his legs to stop himself from crashing against the rocky walls. He panted a bit and looked down at the pink-haired medic, feeling her grip around him tight, and how she was shaking.

"Sakura," he called out, making her raise her head to him. "I need you to hold on, okay? I have to let you go."

"WHAT?!"

"I need my other arm to pull us up."

She nodded hesitantly, and he let go once her arms were secured around him.

He pressed a switch on the wrist band, afterwards, wrapped his arm around Sakura once more when he felt the device pulling them up.

Sasuke spotted Lee being pulled up by his teammates, and soon, he and Sakura were being aided to safety as well.

"Risky move you pulled there." Neji commented, helping Sasuke up as he glanced at Sakura who was being aided by Kurenai and Hinata. "You could have shot out the string first before jumping off."

"Hn." He fixed his uniform and pulled off his goggles. "Adrenaline rush."

Neji just smirked.

"Alright," Kakashi called their attention once everyone has settled and calmed down. "Seeing as the girls look tired," he smiled slightly at Kurenai's glare. "We'll take a ten-minute break," he turned to Neji and Sasuke. "Except for you two; I need your eyes."

"As always." Neji commented, shrugging.

"Whatever." Sasuke placed back his goggles and pushed them up.

The two followed Kakashi, leaving the medics and radio operator to sit on their packs and eye the group. "What did he mean by that?" Tenten asked.

Kiba grinned. "Their special talents."

Sakura tilted her head.

"Well," Naruto began. "Neji has keen eyesight, and Sasuke has photographic memory."

"What's the connection?"

"You see, Lt. Kurenai," Shikamaru began. "We could get loss in this… jungle, and Sasuke's talent will come in handy, if you get what I mean." When they nodded, he continued. "While Sasuke memorizes the area Kakashi is leading them around, Neji keeps an eye out for danger."

"I see."

"All clear." Kakashi announced when he came back five minutes later. "Sorry to cut the break short, but we have to move."

"No problem." Tenten said, getting up.

"Right." Kakashi led the way once again, stopping once they were out of the jungle and in front of the abandoned HQ they were heading for. "We're here."

And the team looked up at the tall gates – but what made them keep their guards up was the scent of blood.

"Captain, I do believe that the mission files said nothing about blood..." Shikamaru voiced out.

"...That's what I thought too." Kakashi said. _"What's going on..?"_

* * *

_Apathetic Silence: I wonder if my cousin can give me a few lessons or tips on cliffhangers..? I really suck at them. Oh and… this is just a bit of a test run – to see if this story would click or not, so don't expect an update to happen soon. Twisted Apathy is barely ten percent complete._


	2. Development of Sorts

_Apathetic Silence: Thank you for the reviews. For those who do not know, my cousin has a deviantart account. Her username is shadowofdeath90, and she has two fanarts of this fanfic. (Though she made a mistake with the colors; she switched the vest and uniform colors) I thank her for it, and I want you guys to check it out. Thank you in advance. And by the way, "call signs" are what the military use in terms of addressing the soldiers when on a mission. Here's chapter 2 of SWAT Delinquents._

_Anyway, despite the number of pairings for this story, the main pair is still Sasuke and Sakura.

* * *

_

**SWAT Delinquents**  
**"**_**Development of Sorts"

* * *

**_

"Archangel, Tigger!"

"Yes sir!"

"Open that gate." Kakashi walked forward a bit and crouched low. "Ma Bell," he ignored the snickers from some of the team. "Climb up that tower and scope; Reaper, cover him."

"Roger." The two said, Neji rushing to climb the tower at one end of the barricade before them, with Sasuke remaining on the ground, keeping an eye out for anything that may attack his partner while making the climb.

"Biohazard," Kakashi called Lee. "Prepare for what could come out of that gate."

"Got it." Lee stepped up and crouched low, rifle aimed at the gate.

"Redshirt, Snapper, I want you to stand behind Biohazard and assist him in case something comes out of that place."

"Affirmative." They both answered.

"Girls, please stand back." The leader of the team requested, and he signaled Naruto and Kiba to open the gates.

As soon as they got a good view of what was within the barricade, they all let their guards down for a bit, and Kakashi turned to where Neji was.

"Well?" he asked through his communicator.

"Hang on." Neji responded, looking through the view of his sniper rifle's scope. "The only signs of life I see are animals and insects that wouldn't be much of a problem for us."

"Alright, you and Reaper get back here then, we'll go on ahead."

"Roger." Neji slid down the ladder and gestured Sasuke to follow him back, the two spotting the team enter the abandoned facility, and they followed, leaving Naruto and Kiba to close the gate once again in order to take preventive measures.

Kakashi clicked his tongue when he saw the entrance sealed shut. "Redshirt."

"Yeah, yeah." Shikamaru yawned and set up his laptop, connecting it to the seal of the door where a card and a code were needed. "Give me a few seconds." He typed rapidly on his laptop, smirking when he heard a "click" and a "whoosh" which signaled everyone that he had unlocked and opened the door. "You gotta love technology."

Kakashi led the way in after Shikamaru assured him that once the door opens, it won't close anymore. "Reaper, Ma Bell!" He called. "Stay behind and make sure nothing and no one gets in."

"Hn."

"Yes sir."

The rest of the team went inside, only to groan when the huge room was nothing worth investigating. Boxes were piled to the sides, and a metal staircase led to the main switch of the facility, which Kakashi told Shikamaru to check out in order to get the energy back up in the HQ, and as well as to shed some light inside. In the meantime, Lee unpacked a few lamps and switched them on so that they could see better, and to save the batteries of their flashlights that were attached to their rifles.

"Sir, this could take half an hour or more." Shikamaru said, seeing the complex codes that appeared on his screen. "So it's better if we use this time to get some rest, not to mention how I still need to wait for the loading to complete."

"Alright." Kakashi turned to his team and the girls. "Get as much rest as you want, and make sure to fill your growling stomachs." He added when he heard Naruto and Kiba's tummies complain.

"Hey, Sakura." Tenten called, setting down her pack and pulling out two sandwich bags, as well as two bottles of water. "Come with me."

The pink-haired medic eyed Tenten, raised a brow, and then grinned. "Sneaky."

"Shut up and come on! I know you want to!"

Sakura blushed and pulled out a bento, as well as an apple.

"Wow, you're _that_ hungry?"

"No, it's just _onigiri _(rice balls)." She murmured. "And an apple is healthy."

"Just plain rice?"

"Well, it's tomato filled, since I forgot to go to the groceries to restock."

"…Okay then…"

The two reached where Neji and Sasuke were talking.

"I don't like the scent of blood."

Neji smirked and shook his head. "Yet you're a soldier."

Sasuke glared. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah well…" Neji shrugged. "This is a lot better than our last mission, for you at least."

The two girls took notice of Sasuke twitching at the memory. "Hn."

"If you don't mind us asking," Tenten began, catching the attention of the two men. "What _was_ your last mission?"

"If you must know…" Neji started. "We had to catch the terrorists that sent a death threat to the Prime Minister."

"So how is that worse than this?" Tenten asked, offering one sandwich and bottled water to Neji, who murmured his thanks and took the offer. "I mean, at least you know you're dealing with humans, but here, you're not entirely sure what caused the scent of blood." Her nose scrunched up. "And I agree with… uh… Reaper..? Yeah, I agree with him with regards to the scent of blood."

"Let's just say that Sasuke isn't fond of crowds, and unfortunately, the train station is packed with people." Neji chuckled. "And he doesn't exactly hate the scent of blood, he just doesn't like smelling it." He took a bite from the sandwich. "Hm, pretty good, did you make these?"

"I wish." Tenten snorted. "But no, your cousin did."

"Hm…"

"So…" Sakura continued, opening the lid of her bento, and offering it to her companions. Tenten eagerly took one, Neji hesitated, but after Sakura insisted, he took one, and then Sasuke stared for a while, and then turned to Sakura. "What?" she asked, titling her head slightly to the side.

Neji fought the urge to laugh. "You'll have to forgive him Sakura, he's a bit… skeptical."

"Skeptical?" Sakura echoed, blinking, a frown etched on her face due to confusion.

"Past experiences with female medics…" Sasuke grunted, turning his head back to Neji to glare. "Shut up Hyuuga."

"It's too good of a story to not tell."

"I mean it Hyuuga, shut up."

Neji couldn't help but laugh, which led to Tenten and Sakura being much more interested.

"Come on, everyone already knows about it, save for the girls."

"Don't even think about it."

"Sasuke nearly got gang raped after a physical check-up from a mission we've done way back."

Tenten spat out the water she was drinking and laughed, while Sakura choked and turned a bit red.

"Ch. Asshole." Sasuke cursed, looking away.

"After that incident, he skipped out on physical examinations." Neji thought back to the event. "It's been… a year and a half."

Sakura looked at Sasuke in disbelief. "You can't do that." She said. "It's required."

"Hn." He glanced at her. "Then get someone who can control themselves from sexually harassing me."

"We have male medics, you know." Sakura said in an "as-a-matter-of-fact" tone.

"I know," he frowned. "Thanks for reminding me about a certain incident."

Neji smirked. "Besides the gang rape thing… a male medic, who was responsible for Sasuke's check-up once, turned out to be gay."

"Oh shit! Now that's priceless!" Tenten exclaimed.

"O-oh… I-I see… s-sorry…" Sakura looked down and sighed. "Well, how about Lt. Kurenai?"

"She's always preoccupied."

"Lt. Colonel Tsunade was a former medic, how about her."

Sasuke twitched. "No thanks, I've seen how she stares at a few guys during Physical Training (PT), and she only does each time they're shirtless." He sighed. "I should know…" He murmured.

Sakura gasped. "S-she does?!"

Neji smirked. "Better believe it, Sasuke couldn't sleep properly since then."

"Wow, someone up there must love tormenting you." Tenten said.

"Hn."

"But… well, not all medics are the same, have you tried for Hinata?"

"Too… awkward." Sasuke turned to Neji who had stiffened. "And I've only met her now, so I didn't know that there were a few medics who haven't…" he trailed off, turning his head elsewhere again. "Yeah."

"Then get Sakura to _check you up_." Tenten smirked inwardly, but she had an innocent smile on her lips. "She's a lot more professional than any other medics out there."

Sakura fought the urge to punch Tenten. "Well… it's my job…" Sakura murmured, looking at her bento. "And isn't fraternization illegal?"

"We're… an exception." Neji said, huffing. "Like we mentioned earlier, we're a _special _team."

Tenten blinked and furrowed her brows. "About that, I recall the rumors about a certain team whose first mission was instantly a B-ranked one and that they succeeded, not to mention that some cadets said that the members weren't from training camp," she looked at Neji. "Did they mean the team you're in?"

"That's us." Neji nodded. "Unlike you and the rest, we were left with no choice."

"It was either service to the country or rot in jail." Sasuke added, sighing when Sakura still kept offering him a rice ball. "If I take one, will you stop offering me some?"

"Uh… sure..?"

He sighed and took one rice ball, bit the tip, and decided that it tasted normal. Come to think of it, Neji and Tenten ate some and they're still alright.

"Jail..?" Tenten blinked. "What the heck did you guys do? Rob a bank? Killed someone important..?"

"That's classified." Sasuke replied, beating Neji and taking another bite from the rice ball, looking down at it when his tongue tasted tomato sauce. _"Tomato-filled..?" _he looked at Neji who smirked at him, and he turned a bit pink when he looked at Sakura who had an expectant smile on her face. "Did you make these..?"

"Yeah, does it taste okay..?"

"Okay?! It's out of this world!" Tenten butted in.

"…Yeah." Sasuke looked away. "Yeah, it's… good…" He avoided her gaze in order to hide his reddening cheeks. _"Stupid pride." _He thought.

Sakura had to hold back her squeal, and just beamed and blushed.

"Ugh, damn." Tenten pounded onto the radio she carried with her. "No signal, I better tell the Captain."

"Here." Neji picked up the radio and escorted Tenten back, purposely leaving his friend and Sakura behind.

"_Damn Hyuuga." _Sasuke twitched, finishing the rest of the onigiri.

"So… you don't like being a soldier?"

He looked at Sakura, who was leaning against a wall and looking at him.

"Not exactly," He said. "I mean, I didn't think I'd actually… grow to love this job."

"Why?"

"I come from a long line of soldiers, to be honest, but… I wanted to try something else," he smirked. "Who would have thought I'd still end up becoming one, and actually enjoy it."

"Join the club." She said, smiling. "I wanted to be a doctor, but my father insisted I join the army, and my mother said being a medic in the army would be a wonderful experience." Her smile slowly faded. "Though I'm still unsure about that, I mean, there are cadets who seem to see girls as… toys."

Sasuke frowned. "Did they harass you or something..?"

"Sort of." Sakura raised her left hand and rubbed her right arm. She lowered her head in order to avoid eye contact. "It's most likely the reason why you haven't seen me in the medical section; I avoid that place most of the time, unless the patient's a girl, or perhaps an unconscious soldier."

"What do you mean 'sort of'?" He scowled. "It's either a yes or a no."

She looked at him for a moment, seeing how he seemed pissed, and she suddenly giggled.

"What's so funny?"

"Sorry for saying this, _Sergeant_, but did anyone ever tell you how cute you look when you're annoyed?"

He scoffed and looked away. "Loads of times." He murmured. "But…" he used his bangs to hide his eyes. "Somehow, coming from you, it feels as if it's the first time I actually heard it."

"Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?" Sakura asked with a grin.

He just shrugged and raised his head again, shaking it lightly to get rid of unwanted thoughts. "Don't dodge my question."

"Ah, right." Sakura avoided his gaze yet again. "That would be a yes."

"Who?"

She looked up, alarmed at his sudden change of tone. "Huh?"

"Who… touched you?"

She couldn't comprehend why he had looked so deadly all of a sudden, the way his eyes glinted, or how his brows furrowed to form a glare.

"Or… how many times did they harass you?"

"I don't know who they were, but…" she looked down and bit her lip. "I've lost count as to how many times they've… groped me."

"Bastards…" she heard him hiss.

"Not to be rude or anything but…" she dared to look at him. "I don't think you should be concerned about it, I mean," She forced a smile. "It's the life of female medics, even female soldiers actually."

"I hate guys like that." He said. "Guys who treat girls as if they're just tools for their carnal desires…" he clenched his fists. "No one should be treated that way."

Sakura eyed him, observed him, and she couldn't stop the heat that reached her cheeks, nor could she help but close her eyes half-way, or how her lips had parted slightly.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, eyes closing to calm himself down.

"_Forgive me, Sergeant, but I think I'm falling for you…" _She thought, looking away. "Thanks," she said, catching his attention. "I feel… much better." She smiled at him, before they both turned to the pathway that led to where the others were, seeing Neji coming closer. "Well, I'll just… head back, in case Lt. Kurenai needs something." She smiled one more time, and turned to leave. "Oh and…" she tossed him the apple she brought with her, and he caught it without any difficulty. "Consider it as a gift." She grinned sheepishly and walked back, leaving Neji to blink and stare at her, and then at Sasuke to catch him still looking at Sakura.

"I'm sensing a lot of chemistry."

Sasuke blinked and shook his head, before glaring at Neji, who just raised his hands up in defense.

"I'm just saying."

"Hn." And Sasuke looked at the fruit Sakura gave him, and Neji had missed the small smile on his lips. "Annoying girl…" he murmured, before taking a bite.

* * *

"Sir," Lee called, and Kakashi approached him. "Look." He pointed at the wall, where a claw mark was spotted, and it didn't seem to belong to just about any wild animal.

Kakashi analyzed it, before tracing it with his fingers. "Too deep and large for a wild cat, seems prehistoric, which is impossible." Kakashi turned to Shikamaru. "How much longer?"

"Give or take, five minutes…"

The leader of the team turned back to the claw mark, before his eyes wandered to the floor, where dried up blood was found. "Now I know where the scent came from."

Due to their training, the scent of blood was easy to pick up, even from a certain distance.

"Anyway, whatever this creature is, we'll find out later," he told Lee, who nodded and headed back to the rest. _"What kind of a mission did they just give us?"_

The power came back on, and Kakashi looked up when Shikamaru had smirked and repacked his laptop. "All set."

Sure enough, they could hear how a few unlocking of doors echoed from the empty halls in the next rooms to come, and how the sounds of the generator from the basement began to roar with life. Even the flickering of lights caught their attention, as well as a woman's computerized voice speaking, saying greetings that did not match the current time, and Shikamaru dismissed it as something automated from the past when this place was still alive.

"Kiba, call Neji and Sasuke." Kakashi ordered, taking out a folder from his pack and opening it to view the contents. "Everyone, huddle." He said when Kiba came back with the other two. "According to the map HQ gave me, the files we need to retrieve totals to five, and that each are located in specific rooms, each in different areas." He set it down on the floor and asked everyone to kneel down for a better view. "The red X's indicate where files A, B, C, D, and E are located. Three of them are somewhat close to each other, being in-between area's C and E, whereas the other two seem a bit at the further end of area's F and G."

"So I'm guessing we're splitting up into two groups?" Shikamaru asked.

"Right you are." Kakashi said. "I'll be leading team A, while Shino will be in-charge o team B." he caught sight of their looks. "Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto will go with Shino's team, which leaves Kiba, Shikamaru, and Lee with me."

"Roger." The seven soldiers said.

"Kurenai and Tenten will come along with my team, while Hinata and Sakura will go with Shino's team, are we clear on that?"

"No problem." Tenten said, as they prepared themselves.

Kakashi nodded and pointed at Area H, the last area of the lab. "We meet back here, in case our communicators end up failing us. If the power goes out, find a way back outside near the entrance gate instead." He got up. "Lastly, we have less than six hours to complete the mission and head out, because the last word I heard from HQ was a bombing of the site. Not to mention how a helicopter will wait no more than a minute for us to finish."

"Geez…" Naruto groaned.

When everything was set, Shikamaru opened the iron gate that led to Area B's entrance. "This is where we split up." Shikamaru said. "Upstairs leads to Area's C to E, that's your cue Shino."

Shino led his team to the stairs while Kakashi proceeded to Area F.

"Naruto, Sasuke." Shino ordered, raising his right hand and motioning the two to move forward.

The two teens did and had their guns ready in case something or someone attacks. Naruto lingered a bit in the back, while Sasuke proceeded to advance, eyes cautious and alert of anything that could possibly be dangerous.

"What the hell is this place..?" Naruto asked, eyeing the glass capsules which were either cracked or completely broken. "It feels like Jurassic Park."

"Hn. Tell me about it." Sasuke answered, seeing a tube filled with dirty water, and how an image of a Raptor was currently present. _"Did they actually think that dinosaurs can be brought back to life..?" _he furrowed his brows at the idea and stepped on a shard of glass, the sound of it breaking catching his attention that he looked down, seeing dried up blood. "Ch." His nose scrunched up at the scent, and he looked back at the Raptor, cursing and taking a step back in surprise when the capsule was empty. "How the hell…" he narrowed his orbs when his ears picked up something from the hallway up ahead. "Shino, I heard something, I'm checking it out."

"Proceed," Shino said back. "Naruto, back him up."

The blonde followed behind Sasuke, who leaned against the wall when the path ended at a turning point. He slowly peeked from the corner, seeing nothing but darkness, but he squinted his eyes and saw that there was a door which led to another room. "I found a way we could get to the next area, but I'll have to make sure it's safe first." He told Shino through his communicator.

"Alright, I just found one of the files here, just tell us if something's up."

"Copy that." Sasuke made a motion to Naruto to head towards the opposite side of the wall, and when the blonde had done so as well as aimed his rifle at the door, Sasuke moved to the entrance of the next area, eyeing Naruto who gave a nod, before slowly pulling open the semi-open door.

"Fucking hell!" he cursed when a large and long snout had forced itself out of the door and tried to bite him had he not kept his right foot against the door to prevent it from coming out of the room. "Naruto, shoot it!"

The blonde did what he was told as the thing kept growling in a high pitched sound, its jaws snapping close, opening, and then closing again. Its claws began to attempt to open the door when its nose picked up the scent of flesh.

"Damn it!" Naruto shot the thing's nose, causing it to retreat back inside the room, making Sasuke be successful in shutting the door close. "Dude, what the fuck was that?!"

Sasuke got back up and took a few steps back. "I don't know, but I'm not in a hurry to find out." The two of them went back to where Shino and the rest were.

"Shino, duck!" Naruto cried out as he aimed his gun at a second floor part of the area where another creature had attempted to jump. He kept shooting since the thing ran left and right to avoid getting shot. "Damn it!"

Neji pulled Hinata and Sakura back for safety while keeping a close eye of his surroundings. Shino and Sasuke provided assistance to Naruto until they finally killed the thing, causing it to fall to the floor they were currently on.

"What the hell..?"

The team approached the dead thing. "It's… it can't be a dinosaur!" Hinata exclaimed.

"Not just any dinosaur either." Sakura said, kneeling down on one knee. "It's a Raptor, only much bigger…" her brows furrowed. "Aburame-san, I know we're not allowed to view the files, but…"

Shino wasn't given the chance to answer since Sasuke took it and tore open the seal.

"Man, what the hell?!" Naruto exclaimed. "We could get into deep shit-"

"We already are." Sasuke said, eyes scanning the words. "We've been sent on a suicide mission."

* * *

_Apathetic Silence: Final exams are killing me! At least I managed to spare some time to update. Don't expect the next chapter up soon, and that goes the same for Twisted Apathy._


	3. Down for the Count

_Apathetic Silence: No, I am not stopping this story, nor am I quitting Twisted Apathy. Like my cousin, I don't really like deleting a story that I've already started. I've just been on-hiatus for my stories due to school, as well as having difficulty in writing what happens next. Which is why I always seek help from my cousin and vice versa – because somehow, we manage to actually solve the problem when we brainstorm together; I lack creativity, you see. It only comes from time to time.

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_

**SWAT Delinquents**_**  
"**__**Down for the Count**__**"**__**

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**_

"Found anything..?"

"Hang on." Shikamaru answered Lee. "Having to hack into nearby wireless connections to activate the _World Wide Web_ can be tricky."

"So says the guy who hacked into the CIA." Kiba snorted. "But I still don't believe what you guys are saying, I mean… a dinosaur?"

"Shut it Kiba." Sasuke said back through the communicator. "Even I had to have a close encounter to believe it."

Kakashi's team heard growling sounds from the other team, followed by Neji and Sasuke cursing Naruto, who then groaned and whined about something.

"You sounded more like a dying animal than a growling raptor." Shikamaru commented, finishing up. "The connection's weak, but it will have to do." He said. "From what the internet can give us, this lab experimented on animals, thus the remote area." He typed a few things and found another source page. "Their aim was to create extraordinary mammals to put them to good use for combat." He clicked on another link. "Species include mostly prehistoric ones, but ended up in failure, or so the website says."

"They failed in getting these things to obey, but they were successful in genetically enhancing them." Sasuke said, eyeing the dead raptor which the rest of his teammates had circled around. "They can move fast to avoid bullets; we _each _nearly wasted one whole mag for this thing." He walked over to Sakura when she motioned him to come over, and he knelt down on one knee when she pointed at the bullet wounds with her gloved finger.

"Normally, your bullets should dig deep, or even perhaps pierce through."

Sasuke understood what she was trying to say, and he continued to report to Shikamaru.

"The bullets hit this guy alright, but it didn't dig deep enough. It's actually easy to pull the bullets out." He pulled one out as blood came flowing from the injury. "Their scales must be thick enough to actually withstand gunshots." He pulled out his combat knife and stabbed the raptor's thigh. "Knives can pierce through, but only if you exert enough force." He pulled it out and cleaned the blade. "Don't ask me about grenades, I'm not about to waste one on a dead dinosaur."

"Let me do the calculating then." Shikamaru answered. "Since bullets only reach a certain depth, and knives can only get through if exerted enough force, grenades will only injure them, and if we get lucky and have them close enough within the range of explosion, then we can critically injure them, or even perhaps kill them."

Kiba sighed. "And we each only have two grenades, the other being smoke bombs."

"It'll be useful against packs." Shikamaru said. "Don't forget that raptors are like wolves."

"They howl?" Naruto joked, earning a bash on the head from Neji.

"Comparing them won't matter for now," Sasuke said. "What's important is to get those files and get out of here alive."

"Well said." Kakashi answered. "In the meantime, I'll have Tenten keep trying to contact HQ. Be careful out there."

"Hn. Reaper out." Sasuke finished the conversation and eyed the carcass of the supposedly extinct being. "Never thought I'd be annoyed to see a real-live dinosaur." He commented out of the blue, making Sakura look at him. "Forget I said that." He got up and eyed the snout of his rifle. "Anybody have electric tape with them?"

"I do." Hinata said, taking one out from her pack and handing it to him. "What for..?"

He didn't answer for a while, and only took out his combat knife and taped it around the rifle. He looked back at the others who were eyeing him with questioning looks, and he had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. "If a raptor gets too close, you might forget how to shoot due to panic." He tapped the side of his head with a finger. "Human psychology."

"Good point." Neji said, catching the tape when it was tossed to him as he did the same.

"Not to mention," Reaper glanced at Naruto. "When you run out of bullets, there's no telling if you'll have enough time to reload."

"Right." Naruto grinned sheepishly, him and Shino doing the same to their rifles.

"Wow, how come you aren't labeled a genius in the team?" Sakura asked while walking over to him with a roll of bandage, afterwards, pulled his left arm to treat the shallow cut he got from the first raptor he and Naruto came across with. "Perhaps it's because of your recklessness?"

"Do I look reckless to you?" He asked back, letting her do what she has to do. "And I'm not a hacker."

"So you have to be a hacker to be labeled a genius?" she had an amused grin, as if mocking him. "Seriously…"

He looked away from her. "Shikamaru was recruited because of his hacking skills, I'm a different story." He walked on ahead when she finished, a sign that meant he didn't want to continue the conversation. Sakura just shrugged it off, deciding that it's not yet the right time to know his past.

"If you don't mind me asking," Hinata began while turning to Naruto who blinked. "I know of Neji being taken here because of his sharp shooting abilities, but what about you?"

Naruto chuckled and gestured with his head to follow the others. "I'm a troublemaker." He said. "I basically end up fighting a gang by myself most of the time, and I always end up winning." He looked at her. "I can understand if you actually grow afraid of me - us, even some of our field officers had to give up on us, until sir Kakashi came, that is."

Hinata shook her head. "You have talent," she said. "Not everyone can take on a gang by themselves, yet you can. It just needs to be put to good use instead of doing it just for the sake of doing it."

"That's why I'm here." He said. "The military gave me a choice to either serve the country or rot in jail," he laughed. "This is a lot better than being locked up and treated as trash you know?" he eyed Shino, Neji, and Sasuke who walked up ahead with Sakura close behind. "Your cousin… I really find his story amusing," he grinned. "Due to illegal hunting, he gets arrested, but is given the choice to put his sharp eyes and marksmanship to serving Japan, or to be sentenced in prison."

"I'm at least glad he was able to find a path wherein he can put his skills to protect."

"Yeah… As for Shino, well, he can be quite the kleptomaniac. _Finders Keepers_ are the words he'd use to say to us when we lost some of our belongings and he ended up finding them."

"What's his story?"

"I don't know the details, but I heard he was accused of stealing from his classmates, but again, it's just the 'ol _Finders Keepers _bit."

"It's still considered stealing at some level."

"Yeah, and thankfully, HQ found a way to cure that habit of his." He stretched his arms a bit as they proceeded to the next area. "Aside from that, he has a knack for stealth; you should see him during undercover missions. If you were a stranger to him, you'd think he's just there like anybody else."

"I see…" Hinata then looked at Sasuke. "And what about him..?"

"I can't tell you that." Naruto said with a small smile. "It took us months to get him to tell us, so it means that he doesn't want anybody to find out, unless he's grown tired of your pestering, or if he begins to trust you."

"Not even a clue?"

"Well…" he grinned. "He likes to go fast, but if you're not familiar with your area, it's hard to do so." He eyed Sasuke. "But due to his photographic memory, he can easily move fast without worrying about crashing."

"…He's a street racer?!"

"…Y-yeah." Naruto was alarmed that Hinata guessed it easily. "Was, actually." He whistled. "Wow, you got it on the first guess."

"Well, the fast and crashing part were major clues." She smiled slightly.

"…Aw shoot."

* * *

"I hope I'm not seeing what I think I'm seeing."

"Sorry to say Naruto, but you are."

Neji scowled at the sight after Shino confirmed Naruto's _wishful thinking_. "What's weird is that it's still complete."

"But from the looks of it, it's been here far longer." Sasuke said, walking over to the human skeleton that lay on the floor, Sakura close behind. "What do you think?"

"Well," She knelt down next to him, and again, he caught a whiff of her hair's scent. "The bones have dried up, and the color is already turning a dirty yellow, not to mention some cracks here and there…" she trailed off and continued to specify her observations, not mindful of how the soldier next to her had been staring far too long at her and not at the skeleton. "So, I estimate it's about more than six months old." She finished, scrunching up her nose when the scent of dried blood invaded her nostrils. Her eyes scanned the skeleton's surroundings, seeing claw marks on the wall, and even a lot of blood at the color of brown – proof of how long it has been staining the wall and floor. "I'm not sure if those raptors cleaned the flesh out of him, or if insects finished off the remains." She turned her head to look at him, flushing to see how close their faces were. "S-Sergeant?"

"Hn. That's a pretty good answer." He said nonchalantly, switching his gaze to the skeleton. "It could only mean that this guy…" he blinked and eyed the skeleton's hips. "Correction, girl…" he didn't take note of how Sakura continued staring at him.

"Eh? How'd you know?" Naruto asked with his face scrunched up.

Sakura snapped from her trance of looking at Sasuke and turned to the skeleton. "The female skeletal system always has wider hips." She said softly. _"I thought he had onyx colored eyes, but they're actually a darker shade of blue."_

"Yeah. Whether she's a scientist or not, she was trying to escape, but ended up getting cornered by a raptor." Sasuke voiced out. "That means those dinosaurs have been on the loose ever since."

"Then how come the jungle out there was clean?" Naruto asked.

"Some of the people who were able to escape this place must have shut the power." Hinata said.

"And since we activated it," Shino continued. "They're now running amuck."

"Oh wow. That's just dandy!"

"Suck it up Naruto." Sasuke stood and looked to his left where a pathway led to another area. "These things are easier to take down if we just remain calm."

"Genetically enhanced dinosaurs – raptors even – are after us, sure, I can calm down." He said sarcastically. "Come on, surely you're on the edge too!"

"Yes, I am." He turned to the blonde. "But I don't have to panic each time a dinosaur attacks, right?"

"So says the guy who yelled at me to shoot the raptor."

"Naruto," Sasuke glared. "Would you have remained calm if a raptor tried to bite your head off without warning?"

"…Okay, so even bastards like you can panic too."

"I give up." Sasuke muttered, earning a chuckle from Neji.

"Don't associate with an idiot."

"Hey! At least I don't have long hair like you do _Ma Bell_!"

"Shut up about my call sign!"

"Cool it." Shino said. "Naruto, head over to the door at the end and check it out." He got a nod from the blonde. "Neji, provide cover. Sasuke, stay at the rear and I'll back you up."

"Got it."

"Hn."

"Sakura, Hinata, it's better to take out your handguns in case those dinosaurs attack."

The two medics nodded and kept their guards up as Naruto cautiously approached the door.

"On your signal Snapper."

"Go."

Naruto kicked the door open and had his rifle aiming inside. "So far so good."

"Neji."

The sniper of the team got back up and jogged to where Naruto was.

"Clear the area Naruto." Shino ordered.

Naruto went in while moving his rifle from left to right, checking for any signs of movement. "Clear."

Shino nodded to Sasuke, who went in to double check as Naruto made his way to the next door. "No dinosaurs."

"Alright, let's move." Shino ordered, letting the two medics go first, before he and Neji followed behind.

Neji closed the door in case a raptor was tailing them, at least the door opening would give them a warning signal.

"We're in area D, look for file B." Shino ordered as he went to one area, Neji and Hinata heading to the other, whereas Naruto went up ahead to the nearby door. "Hey, teme?"

Sasuke looked up from the pile of papers he and Sakura found and turned to Naruto.

"Is it me or are these weird scratch marks?"

He looked at Sakura who nodded once to him, so he went to Naruto to examine the many marks on the metal door.

"I mean, they don't look like they were caused by raptors…"

The dark-haired soldier's eyes squinted a bit as he studied the scratches. "Hn, I think they're fingernails." He looked down at the floor, seeing a few drops of dried blood. "I just can't tell where it starts, but from the looks of it, the one responsible must have tried to claw at the door when a raptor got to him or her."

"Claw at the door?"

"Imagine a raptor eating you alive while you're near a door, and let's say you aren't thinking right due to the state of panic."

Naruto flinched. "I don't like the sound of that," and he eyed his fingernails. "I even hate the sound of fingernails scratching on metal or anything for that matter."

"Same here," his brows furrowed. "I'm just wondering where the carcass is," he looked around the place. "There's no trace of the victim being dragged, the floor's clean."

"Maybe he or she made it to the other side, or perhaps… uh… even the bones were eaten?"

"Your first assumption may be right, as for the other one," he shut his eyes and hit Naruto's head. "Stop coming up with a dumb thing like that."

"Ow! Well it doesn't hurt to assume even the impossible!"

"So why did you say 'ow' then?"

"Bastard…" he rubbed the sore spot. "So, what's your guess?"

He studied the place they were in, as well as the blood on the ground. "He or she couldn't have died here, there's no evidence of the dead body, or even splattered blood."

"Now that you mentioned it…" Naruto scratched his head. "Maybe the person got away."

"We'll just have to wait and see."

"Found it." Hinata announced while pulling out a file from underneath a few debris.

"Good work," Shino commented. "Naruto, Sasuke, clear the other area."

"You got it!" Naruto gave a mock salute as he kicked the door open while Sasuke took aim, index finger ready to pull the trigger in case a dinosaur were to suddenly charge.

* * *

"Holy mother of-"

_Thud._

"Heh. You're welcome." He offered a hand to the fallen genius of the team. "Well, I guess we're done with our part, maybe we ought to leave now before these things start attacking in packs."

"Kiba's right." Kakashi said. "I'll try to contact Shino and the others."

While the soldiers were waiting for Kakashi's orders, they heard loud growls and thundering footsteps.

"I don't like the sound of that…" Lee commented out of the blue, as he, Kiba, and Shikamaru readied their guns while Tenten and Kurenai glanced at Kakashi who cursed and continued trying to reach his other subordinates.

"Snapper! Come in! Snapper!" he called, but Shino didn't reply, and he cursed before bringing up his rifle. "Corporal Tenten, see if you have better luck in contacting the other team."

"Yes sir!" she switched on her radio and crouched down while Kurenai stood behind her to cover her back, whereas the other men surrounded the two women. "Sergeant Major Aburame! This is Corporal Tenten speaking! Please respond!"

Static answered her, and three genetically enhanced raptors came charging in, their jaws showing razor sharp teeth, pointed-end claws ready to tear open their flesh, and their eyes looking ready to kill.

"Fire at will!" Kakashi ordered, and the four men shot at the incoming dinosaurs, taking one down after finishing up one whole mag.

"Fuck! Reloading!" Kiba announced as Lee and Shikamaru cursed and pulled out their extra guns to cover for the reloading soldier.

"I'm out!" Kakashi said, also reloading as fast as he could just as Kiba finished and started shooting once more.

"Reloading!" Lee yelled, taking a clip out of the bag around his waist and reloading his rifle.

Shikamaru followed suit with his handguns and continued to fire.

The four of them took another Raptor down, but they were taken aback when the remaining one had chosen to jump and launch itself towards Lee.

Out of reflex, Lee raised his gun in order to prevent the creature's mouth from biting his head off. He cried out in pain when the large talons of the dinosaur's feet had slashed across his thighs and stomach – the armor he wore preventing his mid section from receiving a fatal injury.

Kakashi, Kiba, and Shikamaru shot the dinosaur, and soon, both Kurenai and Tenten joined in after taking out their handguns to assist.

"Get off of him you fucking bastard!" Kiba snarled, not caring if he just finished another magazine, leaving him with only two more clips left for reloading.

Kakashi and Shikamaru pushed the dead raptor off of Lee's body and Kurenai immediately went to the boy to treat the injuries.

"This is bad…" she murmured, soft enough for the wounded soldier not to hear, but loud enough for Kakashi's keen hearing.

"Talk to me Kurenai. What's my soldier's status?"

She bit her lower lip and glanced at Tenten.

"East wing," Tenten spoke through the radio. "Second door to your right." She lowered the device and looked at Kakashi. "Sir, the others are coming."

"Casualties?"

"Zero."

"Good to know." He looked back at Kurenai, still waiting for her answer.

"I'm sorry, Kakashi, I need one of my medics to help me out here." She took out her med pack and brought out the necessary items. "In the mean time, all I can do is stop the bleeding."

Shikamaru gulped and knelt down next to Kurenai. "Perhaps I can be of some assistance, Lieutenant Yuuhi."

Kurenai glanced at the soldier before looking at Lee's pained expression. "It's better than waiting." She said. "Alright, I need you to apply pressure on his wound," she handed him a clean cloth. "It will hurt him, but it's needed."

"Is he gonna be alright Lieutenant?" Kiba asked, a frown on his face as he reloaded his rifle.

"He will be, but I advise him to be out of the battle if more dinosaurs were to come."

"Copy that." Kakashi looked at Lee. "Alright Biohazard, you heard Lieutenant Yuuhi, I'm afraid I'll have to take you out of this mission."

"No sir! I can still-"

"Don't push yourself soldier!" The Captain thundered. "That's an order."

Lee held Kakashi's gaze for a moment before backing down in defeat. "Sir yes sir."

The silver-haired officer nodded once and stood up, preparing himself just in case another dinosaur were to appear.

"Shit!" Kiba cursed, causing Kakashi to turn to where the young soldier had glared and aimed his rifle.

They heard a growl, and soon, another raptor emerged from the shadows and came running straight for them.

"You mother fucker!" Kiba pulled the trigger and sent multiple bullets to the incoming dinosaur, Kakashi backing him up while Shikamaru tried to resist the urge to stand up and fight, since Kurenai still needed his assistance.

"Shit! Reloading!" Kiba took a few steps back while Kakashi walked forward to let his subordinate reload his gun, until his own weapon clicked.

"That doesn't sound good…" Shikamaru said, glancing at Kakashi who was also about to reload. "SIR!"

Kakashi looked up to see the raptor jump at him, but more bullets came flying towards the exposed stomach of the dinosaur, making it more vulnerable than ever at it screeched and fell to the ground, lifeless like the three others they just shot down.

"What's the matter sir?" Kakashi looked behind him to see Sasuke smirking at him as he reloaded his rifle. "Cold feet..?"

"Hm. I'll let that comment slide for now, Reaper."

"Heh. You're welcome." He walked over to them with Sakura rushing towards Lee to replace Shikamaru, who was more than relieved to stay away from the bloody injury.

"Where are the others?" Kiba asked, searching for Neji, Shino, Hinata, and Naruto.

"Hn. Shino told us to go ahead, since Tenten said that Lee was down."

Kiba nodded once and looked at where Sasuke and Sakura came from. "Wait, why did they stay behind?"

"Like you, we encountered the damn things." He sighed and glanced at his left arm. "Anyway, it isn't wise to let both the medics go on their own, or even one of them alone."

Kiba grinned. "Worried over Corporal Haruno?"

He glared. "Don't make me shoot your ass."

"Oooh. Smell the love." Kiba grinned, saying his ever famous line in the team.

"Hn." He looked towards Lee, frowning at how the wounds didn't seem fatal but quite deep. "What happened?"

Kiba scowled. "Damn raptor jumped on him, good thing his rifle block the bite, otherwise, he'd be a carcass by now."

"Ch." He pushed up his goggles and pressed two fingers against his communicator. "Reaper here."

"We need back-up!"

He narrowed his eyes. "Hang on, I'm coming." He looked at both Kakashi and Kiba who furrowed their brows. "They're getting creamed without me." He gave a smirk and ran back to where he came from.

"Arrogant bastard." Kiba shook his head and gave a snort. _"Still, I'd hate to admit it, but he is our best."_

"Yeah well," Kakashi sighed. "That's how he is." He turned back to the dead raptors. _"Hm. That kid doesn't really wait for orders, does he?"_ he just gave a soft chuckle.

* * *

"Hang on Hinata!" and he continued to fire his gun at the raptor that clawed at the medic who managed to squeeze behind an empty capsule, preventing the large dinosaur from killing her swiftly. "Shino! We're going to need help!"

"I know!" Shino said back, busy with another dinosaur. "I already contacted Sasuke."

"Heh." Neji smirked. "Knowing him, he'd arrive and comment again."

"Got that right."

Bullets fired from another direction, one managing to hit the raptor's eye, prevent it from snapping its jaw at Neji's back.

Sasuke smirked at them as Shino and Naruto were done with their own raptors and glanced at him, Neji returning the smirk.

"What the heck would you guys do without me?" he let his rifle hang around his body and walked over to them. "So, let's go?"

Hinata came out from her hiding spot and sighed. "Gladly."

They ran and followed Sasuke's lead as Shino told Kakashi they were heading back.

"So, bastard, how come you didn't encounter any dinosaurs on the way back?"

"Hn, I killed them when Sakura and I were headed to the others."

Neji quirked a brow. "Don't tell me you killed a lot and still have enough bullets left?"

"Unlike you," he glanced at the sniper. "I carry a lot of clips with me, and two rifles at that."

"How many exactly did you eliminate on the way?"

"Three if you include the one that almost got the Captain, four if it included the other that would have bitten your ass."

"Don't get too cocky, I just had my back turned."

"Which is why you need me." He smirked. "Anyway, Sakura killed the other one."

"The other one that… let me guess, almost got your ass?"

"Hn. Head, actually." he said. "Those things know how to climb walls and ceilings."

"Hold on a sec," Naruto frowned. "Sakura only has a handgun, right?"

"Combat knife." He said. "But she shot it down with a rifle."

Neji smirked. "Your other rifle?"

He glared. "Shut. Up."

"That's funny," Shino continued. "You never lend your other rifle."

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be here right now."

"Bastard's in love."

"Hn. I didn't make a move on Hinata like you did."

"THAT KISS WAS AN ACCIDENT!!"

They skidded to a stop when they saw Kakashi, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Tenten shooting at the incoming raptors.

"One, two, three, four… crap." Naruto soon started shooting as well, and so did Shino, Sasuke, Neji, and Hinata as they got closer to regroup.

They heard a growl come from behind, and Neji was taken by surprise when a tail swung at him, making him separate from his teammates by a few feet.

"Shit!" he cursed when his back hit a nearby wall, making his vision blurry as he tried to get up.

The sniper of the team cursed and held onto the other end of his rifle in order to use the weapon as a shield to block the raptor's bite.

He tried to push it back, but the heavy dinosaur wasn't budging even for a bit, and he was startled when one of his comrades had dared to tackle the thing with just the combat knife attached to his rifle's muzzle.

The dinosaur cried out when it felt the sharp blade pierce against its side and caused blood to spill, its other side hitting the wall next to it.

"Die, bitch." The dinosaur growled at the smirk it was given and soon, bullets were sent inside its stomach, effectively killing it with just a few shots.

It fell to the floor, and the soldier pulled out his rifle, the combat knife still attached to it.

"Heh, like I said, you need me."

Neji couldn't help but smirk. "Reaper definitely suits you." He took the hand Sasuke offered him and stood up with his help. "Ugh. Damn, my back hurts."

"Hn." He smirked. "Getting too old for the job?"

"Shut your trap." His brows furrowed when he noted Sasuke flinch and stagger backwards. "Fuck, you're wounded!"

"Ch. I'm fine." He was thankful that the hallway they were in was narrow, so he managed to use the wall behind him as support while his right hand clutched onto the wound he got from the raptor he just killed.

Apparently, the dinosaur's claws were able to reach his left side, giving him deep scratches from the creature.

"You should have that checked you idiot." Neji scolded, beginning to act like an older brother to his partner since he was a year older. "Come on, let's see it."

"Heh. Going gay on me now?"

"Shut up and let's see it."

"Hn." He closed his eyes. "Just… let it go, I'm fine. This is nothing."

Neji glared. "Sasuke, this is serious, we can't afford another soldier down at this crucial moment."

"Like I said, I'm fine, I just need to catch my breath for a bit."

"Don't be so hard-headed."

"I'm… fine…"

"Fuck!" He glanced at his other teammates. "Sir! Reaper's down!"

* * *

_Apathetic Silence: Am not gonna make any promises as to when the update will be._


	4. Big Trouble

**SWAT Delinquents****  
"**_**Big Trouble"

* * *

**_

Kakashi quickly turned to see where the two were and couldn't help the curse that left his mouth. "I need a medic there right now!"

"Sir!" Without waiting for any respond from Kurenai or Kakashi, Sakura was already next to Sasuke, leaving Hinata no choice but to take over for the pink-haired medic.

"Ch. Lee needs your expertise more than I do." Sasuke said with narrowed eyes the moment Sakura arrived.

"I know more than Hinata does when it comes to these." She said, leaning a bit closer to inspect the wound, and once again, Sasuke's nose caught the scent of her hair. "Besides, she'd rather follow instructions than tend to wounds on her own."

"Hn." He sat up straight when Sakura asked him to remove his vest, and once it was off, she began to treat his wound when he pulled off his jacket and lifted his shirt up.

Neji stood up and took a look around in case a raptor would suddenly come charging.

"About the dinosaur comment…" She murmured, trying to distract him from his injury.

"Hn. I used to have a stuffed dinosaur as a kid." He answered. "I always wanted to see live ones back then; now, I'm not too sure I like how that wish came true."

She stifled a laugh at that.

"What's your shampoo?"

"Huh?" She blinked, stopping her work to look at him.

He turned from gazing at the wall across from him to Sakura's eyes. "Your shampoo," he said. "It… smells like Strawberries and Cream."

Her cheeks flushed slightly before she lowered her head and turned back to treating his wound. "It… it is."

"Hn." He closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the wall. "It smells…" she waited for him to finish while still wrapping the wound up. "Nice…" he breathed.

Sakura instantly turned red at his comment and looked at him once she was done treating his injury.

"Sergeant…"

He glanced at her, seeing her gaping expression.

"Hn. It does."

"Pfft. It just doesn't smell nice to him, Sakura." Neji commented, managing to hear their short conversation. "It's his favorite scent."

Sakura blushed while Sasuke tried to glare at Neji. "Got a problem with that _Ma Bell_?"

"Tease me all you want but I won't take back what I said." Neji kept his smirk.

"Hn." He closed his eyes and decided to take a break for a while. "I got addicted to that scent since I was thirteen."

Sakura blinked and looked at Sasuke.

"My mom uses the same shampoo, and… I just like how it smells…" he glanced at her. "It's a bit… intoxicating."

The pink-haired medic turned even redder at the double meaning of his words.

"Sorry about that Sakura," Neji spoke. "He's like that whenever he's tired and wounded, or when he gets caught up with the scent."

"O-Oh." She tried to move back, thinking it was a bad thing to be near Sasuke when her hair smelled like this, but she was surprised when Sasuke's hand gripped her wrist, making her stay. "But-"

"It helps him calm down and relax," Neji explained, seeing as Sasuke wasn't going to speak for a while. "Don't worry about it."

"Erm…" she blushed at her predicament and just ended up nodding. What else could she do? His grip on her wrist prevented her from getting up, and being so near the soldier wasn't making her frantic heart calm down.

…

Having feelings for Sasuke didn't help either.

But still, seeing him look so relaxed with his eyes closed and head tilted slightly downwards made her want to stare at him a little longer.

His night vision goggles now hung around his neck instead of acting as a headband like earlier, so his bangs fell over his face.

The sight of his left arm bleeding caught her attention, and she immediately pried his grip on her wrist off to tend to it, frowning to see how his earlier wound there just re-opened.

"You're so reckless Sergeant." She mumbled while removing the blood-soaked bandages and wrapping the wound up with a new one. "Your intentions are good, yet you're just too-"

"Hn. Reckless?"

She flushed. "Sorry."

"Don't be." He glanced at her as she finished tending to it. "It's the truth."

"Yeah, but…" she hung her head in embarrassment. "I'm not supposed to talk that way to a combat soldier, a higher ranking one too."

"Screw it." He snorted. "And for the record, I hate you calling me Sergeant, so if it's alright with you, just call me Sasuke."

"But-"

"That's an order," he smirked. "Corporal."

She flushed a bit and looked to the side. "Yes sir…"

He frowned.

"Erm… Sasuke." She corrected herself, sighing. "Anyway, I don't want you to go head on at those things again, so take it easy this time."

"Hn."

"Teme!" Naruto approached his fallen comrade when they were done dealing with the raptors.

"What?"

"Remember a while ago, we were wondering what happened to whoever did those claw marks?"

"Aa."

"Well, it wasn't a pretty sight in finding the body."

"Where did you find it?"

"It was sort of halfway from falling onto me from a railing…"

He cringed at what Naruto had said. "Ch. Damn imagination."

"…I thought you like gore?"

"I have limits."

"Right."

"Guys." Kakashi called their attention while keeping his gaze on Sasuke. "I want lesser wounds this time, got it?"

"Sir yes sir!"

"As for you," the Captain of the team approached Sasuke and bopped him on the head with his left knuckle. "Don't be a reckless idiot."

"Feh." He scoffed.

"Seriously." Kakashi glared. "I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news to your brother."

Sasuke smirked. "Don't you mean my mother?"

"Oh now you joke about it huh?"

"Get over it."

"You brought it up."

Sakura looked at Neji and Naruto, the former shaking his head while the latter had grinned.

"Kakashi's an old family friend of the Uchihas, let's just say that he got a little too close to the mother back in their younger years."

"I… I see…" Sakura looked over at Sasuke's scowl and Kakashi's twitching brow. _"They sure act like kids…"

* * *

_

A few more dead Raptors later, the team was getting close to where they came in.

Tenten had mentioned of HQ sending over a copter to pick them all up, and Kakashi had announced it was time to leave, because their ride back home won't wait even a second for them to arrive if they do not make it by the said time.

If that wasn't bad enough, a missile will be fired to destroy this area.

"Feh. They're really trying to kill us."

Neji couldn't help but smirk slightly and glance at Sasuke who walked alongside him. "I liked you better when you were in a daze." He turned to the pink-haired medic walking ahead of them by a few feet. "Maybe I should call Sakura back?"

"Shut it." Sasuke hissed, trying to forget how much he acted like an idiot earlier.

As the team ventured onwards, most of them wanting to get home as soon as possible, a loud roar had caught their attention.

"We better get moving." Kakashi said. "That didn't sound good."

"Then let's go!" Naruto announced, before they started to run again.

When they finally got out just as they spotted the copter hovering above them and ready to land, Kakashi gestured Neji to climb up a tower to provide cover or be their eyes, just in case the raptors decide to attack.

By the time their ride was close to landing, Kakashi had ordered Shikamaru, Shino, and the girls to go first while they carried Lee, and tailing them were Naruto and Kiba, followed by Kakashi and Sasuke.

"Alright Ma Bell, you can-" a loud roar had caught their attention, and Kakashi and Sasuke looked at where it came from, seeing a raptor that was almost the size of a tyrannosaurus rex. It stomped, showing off its strength as it growled at them.

"Shit." Kakashi cursed.

Neji saw this and instantly fired at it, catching the attention of the large dinosaur as it growled and charged towards the tower he was at.

"Neji!" Kakashi was about to jump off of the copter when something flashed by him, and he saw Sasuke running.

"Sasuke get back here!" He tried to jump, but Kurenai grasped his sleeves and pulled him back.

"It's too risky right now Kakashi!" She said in a stern voice, earning a curse from the silver-haired officer as he turned back to Sasuke who threw a grenade behind the dinosaur, the explosion forcing the large raptor to cry out in pain as it tried to nurse its tail and leg.

"Sir!" Shikamaru handed Kakashi a rocket launcher. "We need to reload this if we ever want to save their asses."

Kakashi nodded once before he and Kiba assisted Shikamaru with it, while Naruto tried to calm Lee down who was panicking upon hearing the news of two of his comrades being in danger. Shino kept his eyes on Neji with the use of his binoculars, reporting the whole scene to the team in order to inform them if something has happened.

"Shit."

"What is it Snapper?"

"Well, good news is, Ma Bell's safe and heading for us, reluctantly."

"...And?"

"Sir, Reaper's being... chased by the dinosaur."

"...Goddamnfucking- ugh! That kid better stay alive!"

* * *

Sasuke cursed under his breath as he kept running, jumping over roots and swatting away large leaves and branches in order to not slow him down.

He skidded to a halt when he saw a cliff, and that there was no bridge or vine nearby to get him to the other side.

His ears twitched at the sound of the large raptor growing nearer, though it had an agitated growl due to its difficulty in moving within the jungle.

The young soldier tried to remain calm despite his palpitating heart, his dark blue eyes that were close to a midnight black hue lowered to the muddy ground, to the edge of the cliff, to how deep the fall would be, and then to the other side.

"_I won't make it by just jumping..."_

He scoffed and turned back, running a few feet before yelling a "fuck" when the raptor snarled and almost took a bite at him. Sasuke was thankful that the ground was slippery, since his sudden halt had caused him to fall back, making the dinosaur miss him by an inch.

Quickly getting back up, he ran towards the cliff, picking up speed as he was nearing, before jumping and shooting out his arm, where the gadget Shikamaru had made for them shot out a string, the end of it wrapping around a sturdy outstretched branch which secured him.

Sasuke swung to the other side, breathing heavily when he was back on solid ground. As he panted and slowly turned to the raptor, he saw it snarling at him, its head tilted to the side a bit, as if assessing what had just happened.

"Heh." A smirk broke onto his lips, and he gave a sigh of relief- until the dinosaur took a few steps back, ran, and leapt into the air towards him. "Motherfucker..!" and he broke into another sprint just as the deadly beast came running after him once more.

"Sasuke, do you copy?"

"Yes!" He huffed, still running. "I hear you loud and fucking clear!"

Kakashi sweated from the other line, knowing that Sasuke cursing loudlyonly meant that he was in need of help and was beginning to panic.

"Head back over here, understand?"

"Sir yes sir!" He made a sharp left turn, causing the dinosaur to skid to its side at the sudden change of location its prey made, before gaining back its footing and picking up speed to catch up with the running human.

Sasuke listened to the directions Shikamaru gave him as the lazy genius tracked his location on his laptop, telling him when to turn left or right.

"West." Shikamaru said as he rapidly typed on his keyboard. "Damnit Sasuke, run faster, he's gaining!"

"EASY FOR YOU TO SAY!"

The team winceed at how loud Sasuke had yelled, causing them to exchange looks before Neji muttered that it was his fault that his partner was being chased.

"Well fuck Hyuuga, don't go emo on me!"

Neji couldn't help the smirk as the others gave a light chuckle. "Just get your ass back here alive and I promise I won't do that again."

"Anytime now!"

Kakashi looked up after Sasuke said that, seeing him running towards them.

Kiba scrunched his brows as he peered behind Kakashi. "Hey, where's the dinosaur..?"

As soon as he asked that, something leapt out from the thick jungle trees behind Sasuke and landed directly in front of him, forcing Sasuke to halt and fall onto his ass.

"...Hell..." Sasuke twitched, glaring at the raptor as it slowly turned to face him, as if grinning at him.

"Sasuke, DUCK!"

He didn't have time to retort as Kakashi fired the rocket launcher and sent the dinosaur exploding. A thick smoke enveloped the whole area as the others coughed and squinted, trying to see if their comrade was still there there.

"Sasuke! Hey! Answer me!" Naruto yelled, a worried edge on his voice when no one returned his call.

The moment the smoke cleared, they stared, seeing a figure lying face down on the ground with his arms over his head.

"Sasuke..?" Kakashi asked, almost afraid of what the outcome would be.

"...Fuck you Kakashi." He snarled, lifting his head up to glare at their team Captain. "It would take me weeks to get the fucking stench off!"

The gang watched as he stood and dusted himself off, nose scrunching at the scent of dinosaur blood and gut on him. "Ugh."

And his teammates just broke into fits of laughter before he cursed them and walked over to the chopper, the pilot taking off as soon as the doors closed. It reported to HQ, and soon, rockets were sent to blow up the abandoned facility, destroying whatever evidence was left of its existence.

As Sasuke plopped to the metal ground of the spacious chopper, he leaned against the wall and sighed heavily, his heavy breaths an indication of just how tired he was, and he didn't like the feeling of his sweat mixing with the raptor's blood and sticking to his skin and uniform.

"I owe you one."

Sasuke turned to Neji. "Hn." And he raised a fist to greet his, albeit weakly.

Neji smirked when he spotted Sakura stand from her spot and knelt down in front of Sasuke to examine him, checking for any possible wounds or if his old ones had reopened.

"Geez Sergeant..." She mumbled, ignoring the sharp glare Sasuke sent her for addressing him as that. "Hold still, okay?" she unwrapped his old bandages and took out a new one after applying some disinfectant on them.

"...Sakura."

She slightly looked up from her work to meet his gaze before returning to bandage his wounds.

"Ever been kissed?"

Sakura blinked and looked up at him before shaking her head.

He gave a lazy grin, and she knew he was affected by the scent of her hair once more, and his next words caused her cheeks to turn red.

"Want me to be your first?"

And she accidentally tightened the bandage on her arm when he asked that.

Neji had chuckled at that. "Next time, keep away from him when your hair smells like strawberries and cream."

* * *

_**Apathetic Silence**__: ...I'm so sorry for the long wait, but... yeah, thesis is taking up most of my time AND what little free time I have._


	5. Unbreakable Trust

**SWAT Delinquents  
"**_**Unbreakable Trust"**_

* * *

She wiped the sweat on her forehead away with her left arm, before smiling at the soldier sitting on the examination table.

"There we go, all done."

"That was quick." He commented, putting his black shirt back on. "Normally, other medics will take long, but you finished in less than three minutes."

She smiled. "It's just a scratch, so it shouldn't take long to fix it." She turned her back to him to return the cap onto the ointment she used for his wound. "Just make sure to change the bandage after you take a bath."

He smirked. "You're pretty good."

"I make it a point to do a job well done." She finished cleaning up and turned to face the soldier, startled that he was standing barely a foot away from her. "Um… sir, you're done here."

"I don't think so."

"Well, I should go." She made a move to leave, but he blocked her path, and in an instant, he had her pinned against the wall. "Sir, _please_."

"From what I've been told," he pulled both her arms up and held them with one hand. "Medics, no matter what their ranks, shouldn't complain or talk back to us." He used his other hand to rest on her thigh, and slowly dragged it upwards, stopping at her waist where he pulled out her shirt to tuck it out. He moved his hand underneath her shirt, going up to touch one of her breasts after pushing her bra up, and she shut her eyes when she felt him grab the round flesh. "You can't control what your body wants," he grasped onto the mound tightly, and she gave a whimper which made him smirk and lean closer. "You may hate this, but your body wants it," his thumb rubbed against the nipple that hardened at his rough touch, and she couldn't help but gasp. "You like that, huh?"

"Stop it." She begged. "Please, stop this."

His smirk left his lips when he heard the click of a gun behind him.

"Don't give me a reason to pull the trigger."

The soldier narrowed his eyes and slowly pulled his hand out of the medic's shirt.

"Let her go, now."

He did, and she immediately lowered to ground and brought her knees up, trying to shy away from the man who harassed her.

"Say you're sorry."

"Why should I?" He turned around to meet the intruder in the eye. "Medics, or rather, women, are meant to be treated that way here."

"Know your place, _cadet_."

"Like hell." He seethed. "You may be a part of one of the best teams, but I still see you as a delinquent."

"I warned you." He pulled the trigger, and the sound of a click caused the cadet to stiffen. "Heh, looks like someone just wet his pants." And without warning, he hit the soldier's head with the gun, effectively knocking him out. "Geez, can't he even tell the sound of an empty gun?"

He removed his unbuttoned navy blue military jacket, afterwards, dropped it onto the medic.

"Lt. Yuuhi wanted to see you, but I guess she'll have to wait." He knelt down before her while she grasped onto the jacket tightly, seeing the name patch of the owner. "I'm aware your fully clothed, but it's a gesture to make yourself feel… secure." He shrugged.

"Now you know why I don't like being here…"

"You told me before, so why the heck are you here?"

"…I was just getting some supplies, and then he came in and needed medical attention."

"Hn." He eyed the unconscious soldier. "I know this guy Sakura, and he and his friends were aware of your absence here, so when they saw you, he got himself a scratch on purpose to take advantage of the situation."

"…Is that why you're here?"

"I saw you and remembered Lt. Yuuhi saying she wanted to see you, it just so happens that I got held back." He helped her stand up. "And then I saw him heading to your direction, so I followed."

"Took you long enough." She murmured, not looking at him.

"Like I said, I got held back." He looked at the soldier on the ground. "But I know how to make it up to you."

* * *

The sound of laughing people caused him to slowly open his eyes, wondering what the commotion was all about; he tried to move, but found that he couldn't, and his eyes widened to see the crowd of soldiers standing before him and laughing. Some were pointing at him, and some were insulting him while laughing.

He felt how his wrists were tightly bound by ropes, and that his ankles were also in the same situation. He was tied in-between two tall wooden posts, his right hand and right foot were bound against one pole, while the left hand and foot were on the other. He dared to look down at himself, and he screamed upon learning that he was stark naked – which was the very reason why the people were laughing. His penis was clearly exposed due to his legs spread apart thanks to whoever tied him up.

In the blink of an eye, he scanned the area, trying to find anyone familiar whom he last saw, and his eyes stopped at a particular team. He glared at a certain dark-haired soldier who was smirking at his direction while his teammates were laughing their asses off.

"FUCK YOU UCHIHA! FUCK YOU TO HELL!" He yelled as loud as he could despite how red his cheeks were from embarrassment.

Sasuke returned the gesture with a two finger salute.

The soldiers only laughed harder as the cadet started to thrash about in an attempt to get the ropes free.

"Let me at him! I swear! Let me at him!"

"Whew. To think women are bad enough in wanting you." Shikamaru snickered.

"Damn Sasuke, didn't think you had it in you!" Naruto laughed, clutching onto his stomach while Kiba used Lee as support, who wasn't doing very well in controlling his laughter, since his wounds were still healing. Shino tried hard to not laugh so much, so he kept coughing to hide it, though the smirk on his lips said it all. Neji didn't bother to hold in his glee.

"Hn, he deserved it." Sasuke turned to his left where the three girls they were on a mission previously with stood.

Tenten was laughing as loud as most of the soldiers, while Hinata's cheeks were a dark shade of red, yet she was giggling uncontrollably. His eyes stayed on Sakura, who was staring at the man who harassed her. He took notice of his jacket still around her shoulders, and he wondered if Kurenai mentioned about it or not during her meeting with the young medic.

Sakura felt someone looking at her, so she looked around to spot the culprit, stopping when her gaze met dark azure eyes and an all too familiar smirk.

She flushed yet gave a beaming smile to match the tilt of her head. She mouthed out a "thank you" to him, and he gave a nod before returning to enjoy the show like the rest of the soldiers were.

* * *

Kakashi couldn't help the defeated look in his eyes while staring at his team. They may have been serious now, but he knew that once Lt. Colonel Tsunade would mention the incident, they'll all end up laughing again.

"Honestly, I'm starting to think I should return you guys to disciplinary school."

"Don't bother Captain, I'm pretty sure they'll just fail."

Kakashi saluted to Tsunade when she entered the room with Sakura following her while carrying a few files.

She nodded to Kakashi who soon lowered his hand and braced himself for the worst.

"Team Shinobi, I'm pretty sure you all know why you're here." She began, checking to see if any of them would start laughing. "As you all know, one person's mistake is considered the mistake of all members in the team, correct?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Then obviously, what Sergeant Uchiha Sasuke did to one of our cadets is-" she stopped when she saw Naruto bite his lower lip and Kiba's mouth twitch. "…A violation." She asked Sakura for one file. "If I'm not mistaken, Sergeant Uchiha tied the cadet early this morning while the soldier was unconscious, but that was after stripping him..." snickers were heard. "…off his…" she twitched when Naruto and Kiba had broken into fits of laughter, glared when Sasuke, Neji, and Shino had smirked and tried not to laugh, and she slammed her hands onto her desk when Shikamaru and Lee had made a "pfft" sound and started laughing.

"Oh god..!" Naruto cried out. "He has a shrimp for a penis!"

"_What _penis?" Kiba laughed. "It was barely an inch!"

Tsunade and Sakura flushed at the mention of the cadet's male organ, while Kakashi cleared his throat to remind himself not to laugh.

"The seven of you will be given the punishment of running twenty laps around the field every morning!" She yelled. "All of you will also be serving cafeteria food for three months! And lastly, none of you will be going on any mission higher than a C-rank one!"

From the way the team continued to just laugh and not react to her punishments meant that they could care less, or they just didn't hear her.

"Erm… ma'am, I am very sorry for this…"

"I am sorry as well Captain, but you will be sentenced to the same punishment as them."

Sakura bit her lower lip. "Ma'am, if I may speak…"

"What is it Corporal?"

"It's my entire fault that this happened ma'am."

"Explain." Her hazel eyes looked at the very loose military jacket Sakura had on, and she saw the name patch of the original owner, afterwards, glanced at Sasuke, only noticing now that he wasn't wearing the jacket. _"I think I know why…"_

Sakura told Tsunade what had happened with the cadet, and why Sasuke did what he just did, and that it wouldn't be fair if they were punished just because of her.

"Corporal, please," Tsunade sighed. "You're a medic, therefore you can't really complain if a soldier would…" she trailed off. "Captain, please, the General is expecting your team."

"Yes ma'am."

"However, I'd like to have a word with Sergeant Uchiha."

Kakashi nodded and left with the rest of the team who were still laughing, leaving Tsunade alone with Sakura and Sasuke.

"At ease Sergeant." She said. _"Though from the smirk you have, you don't need to be told."_ She read the file report that Kakashi had submitted with as much detail as he could put regarding team Shinobi's performance in their last mission. "From how you performed, you're entitled to two promotions already." Tsunade looked at Sasuke who raised a brow. "But your attitude prevents the other promotion from happening, so unless you shape up or be given another S-rank mission, you'll have to settle with the rank of Sergeant Major, like Hyuuga. Aburame is close to reaching the rank of Lieutenant."

"What about the rest?"

"Their promotion will come," she said. "But it will depend on their performance for the next mission."

"You were bluffing about the C-rank mission punishment."

She smirked. "Sharp as always." She looked at Sakura's surprised expression. "Yes, we can't afford to ban you and the rest from higher ranking missions."

"And the cafeteria food thing was also just a sham."

"It's an attempt to get you and the rest to stop laughing."

"Which means our punishment is to run around the field twenty times every morning."

"Yes, also, you owe the medical field a year and a half's worth of physical examination, so to make up for those, you'll have to get a check-up everyday until I say so."

"No way."

"I know the reason why, so I'm assigning Corporal Haruno to be your personal medic, and just to make sure no one can bother either of you, seeing how skeptical you are about it," she cleared her throat. "I'll assign you both a room. That way, no one can interrupt, alright?" She smirked. "You two seem quite… close after all." She added, indicating the jacket.

"Hn." Sasuke chose to ignore that statement. "What is this really all about?"

Tsunade frowned. "Your next mission." she stood up from her seat and asked Sakura for a certain file.

He narrowed his eyes. "What about it?"

"None of your teammates know of this, and your Captain knows nothing of the details."

"He only knows I have a mission."

"Correct." She handed him the file. "That's an A-rank mission, but if worse comes to worse, it can be considered an S-rank one."

He read the contents of the mission and looked up at Tsunade. "I can't accept this."

"You have no choice, but please do enlighten me."

Sasuke glared. "If you send me back there, there's no telling if I'll get back out."

Sakura blinked and turned to Tsunade with questioning eyes.

"If you don't mind, Uchiha," she turned to Sakura. "She may as well know, since she'll be assisting you with this mission."

"Don't even think about it."

Tsunade sighed. "Then you'll have to tell her before the mission starts. As for the not coming back thing, don't worry." She met his gaze. "Your brother will make sure you'll come back."

* * *

She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again upon seeing the impassive look on his face.

They entered the medical room Tsunade told them about, and he immediately removed his black shirt to get it over with. He then sat down on the bed provided and looked at her expectantly.

Sakura flushed at his actions and tried to remain professional about the whole thing. She took out a stethoscope and asked him to breathe in, and then out, before writing a few things on her clipboard. She then checked for his blood pressure and did so twice just to make sure.

"What do you know about the mission?"

She nearly jumped when he spoke, and as soon as she recovered, she answered his question.

"I just know that we have to find out who the cause of street racing is, and where his hideout will be."

"They didn't tell you the reason why I was picked."

"Sure they did." She said, lowering her head to avoid his gaze, at the same time, trying not to stare far too long at his chest and toned stomach. "They said your talent will come in handy."

"Not for the mission." He clarified. "They didn't tell you why they wanted me to become a soldier, didn't they?"

She shook her head. "I don't see why they would."

His fingers clenched the sheets of the hard bed he sat on. "They should have." He looked at her. "They assumed you already know."

"I don't get it."

"Naruto and the rest already know why I'm here, at the same time I know why they're all here. Kakashi too, and my brother obviously does why as well."

"Why do I have to find out?"

"Because you're going to be dragged into it with this mission;" He narrowed his eyes. "I was a street racer before I became a soldier."

"W-what?"

"I never lost a single race because of my photographic memory. I memorized all the detours of an area with one look at a map, or with one trial run." He stood up. "But the main reason as to why they want me in this mission is because I know who's in-charge, and I know where he hides."

"You've met him, and you've been at his hide-out."

"You can't come with us on this mission."

"But-"

"The military plans on using you."

"As what?"

"In street racing, there's always a prize for the winner. Money is involved, no doubt, but there are scum racers who are after something other than cash."

"Like what?"

"A woman's virginity." He eyed her. "I'm pretty sure you understand what I mean."

Her terrified expression answered him.

"Back out Sakura, tell them you're no longer pure."

"…They'll know I'm lying." She said. "Lie detectors here are high tech." She saw him pick up a bottle and take a pill out. "Sasuke, are you even prescribed for that?" She made a move to snatch the object away from his fingers, but he grabbed her wrist with his other hand and looked at her.

"Sorry for this." He murmured, afterwards, put two pills in his mouth and kissed her.

She didn't need another second to know what he was up to, because she could feel his tongue push her upper and lower lip apart to transfer the pills, making her swallow it.

In just a few seconds, her vision grew cloudy, and she felt him lay her on the bed while he climbed on top of her.

"_Sasuke… don't…"_ And her world went black.

* * *

Her brows furrowed for a moment, before she slowly opened her eyes, seeing a white ceiling greet her.

"Where…"

"You won't feel the ache between your legs due to the pain killers I gave you."

She immediately sat up to see Sasuke standing there with his back turned her. He was already putting his belt back around his pants, as well as his shirt.

"Now you can tell them you're no longer a virgin." He didn't give her a chance to say anything, because he already walked out of the room.

Sakura shook at the sudden revelation, and she slowly pulled something to cover her chest while she hung her head and silently cried. She never thought that the person she fell for would do this to her, no matter how touching his reason may have been, he still didn't have the right to force her into something she didn't want.

Funny thing is…

…She hadn't realized it was his jacket that she was clutching.

* * *

"He what?"

Sakura just remained silent, refusing to repeat her story, or even touch her lunch.

"That fucking bastard."

"Tenten, please tone down…" Hinata begged. She placed a hand on Sakura's back while the other held her arm for comfort. "We can't let anyone else know about this, Sakura's embarrassed enough as she is."

The female radio operator just clenched her fists and scanned the cafeteria, hazel brown eyes searching for the person responsible in hurting Sakura. "I'm going to castrate that fucking asshole."

"Ten, don't. That's how female medics are treated." Sakura murmured. "Just…" she shook. "Just let it go."

"Like hell I would! Sakura, he forced himself onto you!"

"He did it to… to protect me."

"Protect you from what?"

She closed her eyes. "I was supposed to go on a mission with him and his brother, but he didn't want me to go, so… he…"

"I don't see the reason why he has to insert his fucking penis into your-"

"Tenten!" Hinata scolded. "Please!"

"…Right."

"The military assigned me because I was still a virgin, and lying to them about that wouldn't work."

"So, what, he took away your virginity so that you wouldn't have to lie, and the military will send someone else in your place?"

She nodded meekly.

"Oh geez Sakura! You're defending him for that? You're not angry at him? You don't want to kill him for what he did?"

"I'm mad, okay?" She snapped. "I want to yell at him and everything but…" she let her eyes shed a new batch of tears. "No matter how I look at it, he did so to protect me." She shut her eyes. "I may not know him that well, but I know that… he isn't the type of person who would do this for his own pleasure."

"And what made you say he's considerate for your welfare? Aside from the protecting you part!"

"He knocked me out so that I wouldn't feel anything, so that I wouldn't see anything. He gave me pain killers so that my body won't hurt all over." She looked at Tenten. "When he talks, he maintains eye contact, but when he talked to me after I woke up, he won't even glance at me, that's how guilty he is for what he's done…" She lowered her head. "I'm still emotionally hurt at what he did, but… I know he's also wallowing in guilt."

Tenten sighed and glared at the table. "I still won't forgive him."

"What about his physical examination?" Hinata asked. "Lt. Colonel Tsunade assigned you as his medic, right?"

"He hasn't shown up since that day."

"Wait," Tenten looked at Sakura. "You still went to that fucking room?"

"An order is an order Tenten." She said. "And anyway, he didn't come, I haven't seen him since."

"How long has it been?"

"A week." Sakura answered. "He left for his mission three days ago."

"Do you know when he'll be back?" Hinata asked softly.

"If I remember correctly, either this afternoon, or tonight..."

"Rewind!" Tenten pointed at Sakura. "He took your virginity a week ago and you only told this to us now?"

"Ten, calm down." Hinata said. "I'm sure she has her reasons."

"Alright, why?"

Sakura sighed. "I kind of locked myself up in my room for two days, except during the time of his check-up." She looked at Tenten's bewildered expression. "Reflex, okay? Besides, I was pretty much nervous when I was going there, but yeah… he didn't show up."

"Okay…"

"I managed to get over the incident on day three, when Lt. Colonel Tsunade told me I'll be out of the mission for what has happened." Her eyes half-closed at this. "And also because she helped me cope with it."

"…How?"

"She was the one who knocked some reason into my head – that's why I'm defending Sasuke."

"You mean to tell me that despite knowing he forced himself onto you, she still defended him?"

"Yes, now please stop reacting so violently." Sakura pleaded. "I don't want to cause a scene."

"Fine…"

"After that, my anger towards him gradually subsided, though it's still there, just waiting to explode."

* * *

"Food here still tastes like crap."

"Just admit it Naruto," Kiba grinned. "You miss your best buddy."

"Like hell!" The blonde grunted. "I'm just pissed off that he's playing the invisible man!"

Neji sweat dropped. "You've been listening to that song again."

"Point is," Naruto glared at Neji. "We haven't seen him for days! Where the hell is he? You're his partner! Be worried!"

"I am." Neji sighed. "But I know he has his reasons for just... disappearing, maybe he doesn't want to be found."

"I hate to admit this but Naruto has a point. It's odd…" Shikamaru said. "I expected to see him during breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or even the twenty laps punishment given to us."

"Maybe he has a different kind of punishment." Lee said. "He was present on the first few days of our punishment."

"Yeah, and even then, he was a lot more silent than usual." Shino commented.

"He won't grunt or even throw back an insult at Naruto." Kiba said. "He won't even say a word to Neji."

"Then we may as well ask someone else." The sniper of the team suggested. "Maybe Sakura has an idea."

The guys looked at him.

"What?"

"Why would you think Sakura knows?"

"Aside from us, she's the only person he talks to."

"What if he and Sakura are…" Naruto trailed off as the rest continued it in their thoughts.

"_Could they be in a relationship..?"_

"_Bad mental image…"_

"_Wow, Sasuke fraternizing with Sakura..!"_

"_Hm… no way would he do that, right..?"_

"_That bastard didn't even say anything!"_

"_Can't say that I didn't see that coming…"_

They snapped from their thoughts when Kakashi called their attention.

"Sorry to interrupt your dinner time boys," he looked too serious, and they knew it was something bad. "But Lt. Colonel Tsunade wishes to see us."

"What about Sasuke?"

"He can't come," Kakashi led the way out of the cafeteria. "He's the very reason why Lt. Colonel Tsunade wants to talk."

"No way." Naruto said. "He… is he off the team?"

"Naruto, just… just wait until we get there."

"Fuck, he must have gotten caught." Kiba seethed.

"Can't be…" Neji pointed towards Sakura's direction with his chin. "She looks unaware of what's happening."

"Hey, Captain," Kiba called, eyeing Sakura who was being led by Kurenai. "Why is Sakura coming along?"

Kakashi didn't answer, even until they reached the room.

Tsunade opened her eyes to see them being told to stand at attention.

"Kurenai, you may go now, thank you."

The head medic left Sakura standing next to Kakashi, who was clueless as to what's wrong.

"At first," Tsunade began. "This was supposed to be a meeting for a retrieval mission." She stood up from her chair and walked around her table so that she was face to face with Naruto and the rest. "But since they came back, saving them will no longer be needed."

"Ma'am, what do you mean?" Shikamaru asked.

"A week ago, I sent your comrade on a mission with his brother, and originally, with Sakura as well." She took note of their surprised expressions. "It was classified; therefore, he wasn't allowed to tell any of you about it. Your Captain isn't aware of the details, but he knows it was an A-rank mission that was possible to be an S-rank."

She picked up a remote on her desk and pressed a button, making a hologram appear before them. "This is the target and information Sasuke provided us based from his memory." Her eyes narrowed. "I'm sure all of you are aware of his past as a street racer, and to make it worse, he didn't race with cars," she pressed another button, and a picture of Sasuke on a motorbike with Itachi next to him appeared. "He raced with the use of motorbikes."

"You fucking sent him back there without us?" Naruto yelled, forgetting that he was supposed to be at attention.

Tsunade stopped Kakashi from scolding the soldier.

"Do you have any idea what could happen?"

"Yes Naruto, I am aware."

"Then why the hell did you send him there? That fucking criminal wants Sasuke to stay there! And if he doesn't stay, he'll kill Sasuke!"

Tsunade looked away. "Your friend knows that as well, and he didn't want to go back."

"Yet you still sent him there?" It was Neji who reacted this time.

"He agreed when he knew his brother would be coming." She looked back at them. "And you all know how much he trusts Itachi."

Shikamaru sighed and tried to calm down. "Please tell me Orochimaru is dead."

"He is," Tsunade said. "As soon as Sasuke was inside the man's hideout after winning a race, he shot Orochimaru directly to the head." She looked back at the hologram and switched it off. "But his men won't allow Sasuke to leave alive, so they started shooting, and he fired back. His brother managed to back him up, and when they were about to leave, a bomb went off, killing a lot of people who were nearby."

"And what about Sasuke and Itachi?" Naruto asked with a low voice.

"They're alive," Tsunade said. "I just received word from the black hawk that picked them up."

"Are they alright?" Shino asked.

"Yes, they're wounded, but it's nothing critical."

"Will you stop keeping us in suspense and just tell us the fucking ending?"

Tsunade sighed at Naruto's impatience. "Itachi and Sasuke are alright, I am only telling you the details as a protocol. Any questions?"

"Damn it! Don't do that again!" Kiba gave a relieved sigh and then looked at his teammates. "No wonder he wasn't around."

"Ma'am," Shino called her attention. "If Sakura was supposed to go, how come she didn't participate in the mission?"

Tsunade caught the pink-haired girl's eyes.

The young medic was worried earlier when Tsunade hasn't told them the results yet, but now, she was relieved that Sasuke made it - though Shino's question caused her to stand rigid all of a sudden.

"Sasuke didn't want her to go."

"Wait, you said an order is an order!"

"Yes Naruto, it is." She looked at Sakura. "The mission required a female medic – for a different reason." She closed her eyes. "In street racing, the prize for the winner is a huge amount of money, but there's another reward." She looked at team Shinobi. "And Sasuke didn't want Sakura to be that other reward."

"But I still don't get how he talked you into pulling her off of the mission!"

"The woman must be a virgin." Sakura answered, catching everyone's attention. "It's okay ma'am." She told the blonde woman. "They deserve to know."

"Then I guess you deserve to know the truth as well."

"What truth?" Sakura asked.

"I want Sasuke to tell that to you." Tsunade picked up a clipboard from her desk and flipped a few papers over. "He's in the medical room, number 224." She looked up at the girl. "You are still his personal medic, understand?"

"Yes ma'am." She saluted and left to go to the soldier she was assigned to care for.

"So are you going to tell us?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes." She turned to Kakashi. "Captain, please."

"At ease soldiers."

The team, though not already standing at attention earlier due to their outbursts, relaxed their postures.

"A woman's virginity is the other reward, aside from money, and Sasuke didn't want Sakura to sacrifice that. He had confidence in his skills as a racer, but he was worried at the fact that Orochimaru will play dirty." Tsunade sighed. "Anyway, I assigned Sakura to be Sasuke's personal medic to make up for the check ups he missed. During the first one, he planned on getting Sakura to back out of the mission, but to do that…"

"Stop fucking with us! I know that bastard! He wouldn't dare!" Naruto yelled.

"Right you are." Tsunade looked at them. "He didn't." Tsunade sat back down on her chair. "Sasuke made her think and believe that he took her virginity so that the lie detector would also believe it." She held back a laugh at everyone's expression. "He's an Uchiha for goodness sake, he's bound to show his intelligence once in a while." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, after Sakura woke up, he pretended he was getting dressed just to get her to believe he went through with it, afterwards, he told me that he raped her, but I knew he was lying."

"…He didn't look at you directly in the eye." Neji stated.

"That's right." Tsunade smirked. "I told him that I'll pretend to believe him, so he already knew that I know."

"Okay, so he pretended to rape Sakura, and then it turns out he didn't, yet he made her think he did, and then you knew he didn't even if he told you he did?"

"Yes; that's why he knocked her out," Tsunade whispered. "That talk I had with her… I was indirectly telling her the truth." Tsunade smiled. "It's against that Uchiha brat's principles and moral to force anyone into something."

"Damn that kid." Kakashi cussed out lowly. "So, about our next mission as a team?"

"Ah yes. You'll have to wait for the General's call."

* * *

Upon arriving at the room he's in, she didn't know how to react when she saw him trying to bandage himself up, yet had a hard time doing so because the wound was on his back.

"Sergeant, let me do that."

He looked at her, a bit surprised to see her still wearing his jacket, and then turned away. "I didn't think she'd send you."

She noticed how he looked at his jacket that she still wore despite what had happened, and she couldn't help but turn a bit pink.

"It… sort of provided me comfort."

"It shouldn't, after what I did to you."

Sakura walked in and asked him to sit down on the examination table before tending to his injury. "How are you feeling?"

"Which are you asking about?"

"Both."

"This wound is nothing, and I'm alright with regards to the mission. As for the other one…" He raised his head to meet her eyes. "I feel like crap."

"Why?"

He frowned. "You know what I did."

"Tell me the truth."

Sasuke glared. "I don't need to tell you what you already know."

"So tell me what I _don't_ know." She noticed the blood on the side of his head, so she went to treat that part. "Lt. Colonel Tsunade didn't give me a clue, and she said she wanted you to tell me."

Her hair's scent was making his mind go blank again, and he had to bite his tongue to not make his thoughts wander.

"The target didn't want me to escape, but after he was killed, his men wanted me de- fuck! Geez Sakura! What did you do that for?"

She returned the glare he gave her, afterwards, pulled back the cotton she had harshly pressed against his head. "You know what I'm talking about _sir_."

He looked away. "No, I don't."

"Don't make me use Hydrogen Peroxide on your wound; I'd do it if it would get the truth out."

"_What_ truth?"

"What did you do to me?" She said. "Rather, what did you _not_ do to me?"

"You're only tasked to fix my wounds, not ask me unrelated questions."

"Stop dodging it and just tell me the truth!" She yelled. "I had to cope with what you did to me! I was on the brink of inflicting pain on myself just to forget what happened!"

"What's the point of getting you knocked out if you'll think of things you didn't see, hear, or feel?"

"I want to know what you really did!"

"The lie detector is enough proof-"

"I don't need one to know you're lying!" She glared and held his face, which caused him to widen his eyes at her sudden action. "Look me in the eyes and tell me what you did."

He kept his gaze on her, trying to choose his words carefully so that he won't look elsewhere, and he settled on saying one word to sum it all up: "Nothing."

"By nothing…" she kept her eyes on his. "You mean… nothing, as in…"

"I meant I didn't do anything except knock you out and wait for you to wake up." He paused. "And… remove your clothes."

"Why did you make me believe you did something?"

He sighed. "To fool a lie detector, you must fool yourself first – human psychology."

She stared for a moment, and then, she smiled, and she started laughing lightly.

"…What the hell?"

She just continued laughing, even while wrapping a bandage around his forehead.

"You're freaking me out."

"I just find it amusing," she smiled. "Rather, I find you amusing."

"There's nothing funny about what I said, nor about me."

She poked his forehead lightly and smiled. "Forget it." She finished up, but he blinked when she leaned her forehead on his, her eyes closing as she sighed lightly. "Just… forget it."

"…hn."

She placed a hand over his and gripped it lightly. "I'm just… glad you're alright."

Well, what she did wasn't making him feel alright at all.

It only made him nervous, especially when his other hand involuntarily moved to touch the side of her neck, and his fingers had enclosed at the back of it, keeping her forehead on his.

His eyes eventually closed as he gave a silent sigh.

What the hell was this girl doing to him?

* * *

_**Apathetic Silence:**__ Not much to say about this chapter, it was just a random idea to further develop Sasuke and Sakura's relationship or bond. In other words, it's a filler of sorts._


	6. Fighting Spirit

_**Apathetic****Silence:** Let me just say in advance that I really want to have more SasuSaku here, so I'm apologizing this early if the pair steals the spotlight more often than others. Also, I am aware of other characters' talents and skills, but to me, and even my cousin, it's much more fun to write about Sasuke's battles, because his fights are a lot interesting to watch and even analyze. Seriously. It's my opinion though, so don't think I'm playing favorites. Heck, I prefer Neji over Sasuke, but it just so happens that I prefer Sasuke's battles, and I'm into action and romance combined, and SasuSaku just fits it best._

_I'll still add a few tidbits and hints with the other pairs, so don't worry. They just won't be on the spotlight much._

* * *

**SWAT Delinquents  
**_**"****Fighting Spirit"**_

* * *

Danzo looked at team Shinobi sternly before standing up from his seat to brief them about their next mission.

"I've been informed that you're ready for another mission, Sergeant Major Uchiha."

"Sir yes sir."

"In that case," he turned his back to them. "Team Shinobi's next mission is B-ranked; you will be sent to a remote island and evacuate the locals to Suna. The Mayor of Suna has agreed to take in the villagers until further notice." He opened up the hologram image of the island. "These villagers don't exactly speak our language, but I've been told that all of you know English, and that some of you are fluent with the language." He looked up at the team. "May I know who the fluent speakers are?"

Kakashi nodded once. "Sir, aside from myself, Sergeant Major's Hyuuga and Uchiha, and Sergeant Nara are fluent with the English language. The rest know enough to talk to the locals, but I have been informed that the people we'll be socializing with are not very good with the language, sir."

"That's right, so they might speak with wrong grammar or pronunciation of words." He looked back at the team. "I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem."

"No sir, it won't."

"Good. Now then, the village head will be conversing with you, Captain, so tell him what is only needed to be said." He clicked a button on the remote he held as the image of the island changed to the appearances of the villagers – men, women, elders, and children. "According to their history, they hailed from the mountains, thus the lack of clothing in some areas." He turned to the team. "Please refrain from staring too long at the bosoms of women. You are there to help them, not to intimidate them."

"Sir yes sir." The team answered.

"Also, Captain, you are required to report to me with regards to the activities there." He clicked another button. "A large plane will be sent to pick up the villagers after twenty four hours – it's the time required to stock up on goods and clothing for the trip to make them comfortable. Your team will be picked up afterwards by two Black Hawks."

"Sir yes sir."

"Lastly, a team cannot be sent on a mission without medics." He noticed the look the men sent him. "It's for precautions – it's an unexplored island, therefore, weapons are needed in cases of hostility or unexpected terrorism activities. The medics are there for your safety, but in return, you'll provide them security."

"Sir, how many medics are we talking about?" Shikamaru asked.

"Three; you've been with the two of them on your previous mission, and the other one has been sent on request for experience." He pressed the intercom on his desk. "Send them in."

The doors of Danzo's office slid open, and the team recognized Hinata and Sakura, but not the other one.

"Gentlemen, you already know Corporal's Hyuuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura," the two medics saluted at Danzo, who saluted back. "But allow me to introduce a new recruit of their field, Private Yamanaka Ino."

"Rrrr." Kiba gestured to Naruto who held back a snort.

"She is quite skilled in the field of combat as well, so please Sergeant Inuzuka, do not mess with her."

"…Yes sir."

"As always, you are required to be equipped with a maximum of two desert eagle handguns, given one assault rifle, recommended to bring two types of grenades, and also required to carry with you your combat knives. You may choose another weapon of your choice, provided it does not hinder you from doing your best." He switched off the hologram. "You will leave tomorrow at exactly five in the morning. Are there any questions?"

"Sir," Neji called. "Why are we evacuating the villagers?"

"There is something on that island," he said lowly. "People have been missing for months, and it is only now did they accept the help we are offering."

"Are we required to investigate, sir?"

"No Sergeant Major Hyuuga, you must avoid combat or confrontation with the unknown as much as possible."

"...But..?"

Danzo met Sasuke's eyes. "...If the situation calls for it, then by all means, go ahead."

* * *

"Good Lord did you see that chick's breasts?"

"Kiba, please tone down." Neji grunted.

"Oh come on! Your cousin is pretty well-endowed in that area, but that Private's hot!"

"I would appreciate it if you not mention about my cousin's appearance."

"Uh-oh, our sniper's about to kick your ass if you don't stop." Naruto joked. "Hey teme, aren't you going to eat?"

Sasuke looked up from his tray. "I'm injured."

"I thought you were good to go?"

"I'm ambidextrous." He reminded, before glancing at his sprained right hand. "But I can't use chopsticks with my left hand."

"Aww, do you want me to feed you Reaper?" Kiba teased, picking a tuna sashimi from his tray. "Here comes the airplane Reaper..! Open wide..!"

"Don't make me shove that up your ass."

"Kiba got owned!" Naruto cried out, leaving the rest of the team to laugh. "Hey, there's your hottie!"

"Where?" Kiba stood up and looked at where Naruto pointed. "Oh fuck, just look at that ass!"

"Morons…" Neji huffed. "Just make sure it's not my cousin you're checking out."

"Don't worry about it," Shikamaru said. "Hinata doesn't wear fitted clothes, unlike Private Yamanaka and…" he glanced at Sasuke and smirked. "Corporal Haruno, right Sasuke?"

"Zip it."

"Hey! Yo!" Kiba waved his arms to catch the blonde medic's attention. "Come sit with us girls!" He gave a silent 'yes!' when Ino told Sakura and Hinata to head over to the guys. "Naruto, be a pal and move over."

"Huh? Why?"

"Move over!" He pushed Naruto off the bench and grinned at Ino. "Hey, here, let me get that!" He took the tray from the girl and set it down to where Naruto previously sat on.

"Um… thanks." Ino said nervously, taking the unoccupied part of the bench that Kiba offered. "What about Sergeant Uzumaki?"

"Him? Don't worry, he's done."

Naruto stood up and raised a fist at Kiba. "What ever happened to our pact regarding Dicks before Chicks?"

"You heard wrong then." Kiba said without looking at Naruto, and instead, focused on Ino who was laughing at their interaction.

"Here Sakura, take my seat." Neji stood up and returned Sasuke's glare with a smirk. "I'm done eating anyway."

"Thanks." She smiled slightly and sat down, afterwards, glanced at Sasuke who kept his gaze on his tray. "How's your head?"

"…Fine."

"Back?"

"…Fine."

She raised a brow. "Your hand?"

He looked at her. "What do you think?"

She smiled. "Here," she used her chopsticks to pick up a piece of small shrimp from his tray. "I guess you can't feed yourself."

He flushed and glared at the guys who started snickering. "I'm fine."

"Yeah?" She raised a brow. "Look me in the eye and say you can use your right hand."

He twitched. "Stop doing that."

"Just forget about your pride, it's not going to satisfy your hunger."

Shikamaru moved a bit to let Hinata sit down next to Sakura. "You may as well let her feed you Sasuke, she won't stop."

"Hn. Yeah, she's too stubborn."

"Like you aren't." Neji shot back.

"Shut up."

Sakura just grinned. "Don't worry sir, Tenten misses you too."

That made the team's attention turn to Neji's blushing face, and they started to tease him about it.

Sakura looked back at Sasuke who just stared at her for a moment before smirking and shaking his head.

"You're welcome." She laughed. "Now, open up."

He sighed before reluctantly letting her feed him.

* * *

The team Captain held onto the railings of the Black Hawk and placed two fingers against the ear piece on his ear. "Snapper, status."

"Sir, we're ready to go on your command."

Kakashi looked back at the rest of his subordinates, choosing to have Neji, Sasuke, Naruto, and Kiba in his team this time since they will be the ones securing the island, along with Sakura and Hinata, the two medics being much more experienced than Ino, who will be staying with Shino's team, much to Kiba's disappointment.

"You, Redshirt, and Biohazard have most of our equipment, not to mention that Private Yamanaka is not yet used to drop offs, so we'll be taking the jump, while you will wait for your copter to land, understood?"

"Sir yes sir."

"Oh yeah! We jump!" Naruto pulled down his goggles and glanced at Hinata. "Ready to go?"

She smiled. "I've been waiting for another opportunity like this sir."

"Aww… don't call me sir! Not all rules apply to our team you know?" He grinned.

She just gave a soft laugh. "Sorry, Naruto, I'm just used to following orders." She prepared herself for the drop off, making the blonde soldier gape. "And for the record, I know how to jump this time."

"Aw man."

Kiba snickered. "Welcome to my disappointment." He pulled down his goggles as well, afterwards, looked at Sakura. "Yo, where's your gear?"

"Um… well…" she nearly jumped when Sasuke had already strapped the safety belt around her waist, afterwards, made sure nothing would separate her from him during drop off.

"The hell man?"

Sasuke looked at Kiba behind his own night vision goggles. "She's afraid of heights."

"Dude! That is so totally unfair!"

"Suck it up Tigger and get going!" Kakashi ordered, also putting on his goggles while Neji and Hinata had jumped, followed by Naruto and Kiba. "Alright Reaper, Corporal, let's go!"

Both Kakashi and Sasuke jumped, and once more, Sakura gripped onto Sasuke's arm tightly.

"Hn. When the heck will you learn to trust me?"

"I do trust you! But I'm still afraid of heights!"

"Heh." He smirked. "You're such a baby."

She narrowed her eyes but her cheeks were red.

"In any case," he tightened his grip. "I'm not going to let go."

"A-alright."

"Chutes!" Kakashi said, and they all opened their parachutes.

From below, the locals pointed at them and the Black Hawk which Shino and his team were occupying. Children of all ages took delight upon seeing the soldiers land onto solid ground properly, removing the chutes at the right time.

Kakashi marched over to the village leader and nodded once in greeting.

"Chief Barlrog?"

The stout and tanned man who wore a large headdress and a colorful tunic nodded once to Kakashi.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi, I'm the Captain of this team." He bowed down slightly to show his respect, glancing at his team to silently tell them to do the same.

As soon as the Chief had nodded, Kakashi straightened up to wait for the man's response.

"Where big plane?"

Neji had elbowed Naruto when he made a "pfft" sound.

"It will come tomorrow after stocking supplies you and your people will need for the trip." He answered. "In the meantime, we're here to provide you with security and assurance that no villager will disappear again."

"That good to know." The Chief said after glancing at his people. "But we have warriors of our own." He gestured at the men who were either a head taller than Kakashi or of the same height as him, and they all had well-built bodies. "We no need for your protection."

The warriors gave a cheer, thinking that it intimidated Kakashi and his team.

"Yes, well Chief," Kakashi gave a smile. "We are only following our orders."

The Chief didn't respond for a moment before nodding once, afterwards, looked at his own men. "You task not to explore?"

"No, unless necessary, we are not told to… explore."

"Hm…" he gave a wry smile. "Then perhaps, while waiting for big plane, we test your warriors against mine?"

"Whoa, whoa!" Kiba suddenly commented. "We didn't come here for this shi-" He got cut off when Sasuke slapped a hand on his mouth, silencing him.

"They don't understand Japanese, but it's best to keep your mouth shut Tigger."

Kiba just grunted in response.

"If it's alright with the Chief," Kakashi lowered his head slightly. "I will first consult with our leader about this."

"Very well, it best be safe than sorry."

The village warriors laughed, and the leader of the warriors had stepped up with a smug-looking smirk. "It not much of a challenge to beat the small ones."

"Haughty bastards."

"Hn." Sasuke smirked at his partner. "Well at least our English is better…"

Neji had to snicker at Sasuke's comment.

Kakashi sighed and gave a warning look to his men. "We're not here for a fight or for some entertainment, we do not know their ways, so it's better to just stick to our job."

"But they just insulted us!" Naruto hissed. "I'm not going to take that shit from villagers who can't even speak proper English!"

"Their challenge could be a death match Naruto, did you even think about that?"

"…No sir."

He glanced at the leader of the warriors who was still waiting for them, and he had to resist the urge to glare. "As much as I'd like to show them a thing or two, we can't let our pride get the better of us."

"Have you consulted with your Chief yet, Captain Hakate?"

Kakashi twitched. "No sir, and that's… Hatake, actually."

"My apologies, Hatake."

He nodded once and turned to Shikamaru who was done contacting HQ. "Sir."

Kakashi took the mobile device from the soldier. "Sir Sarutobi." He spoke to the Field Marshal himself. "Well, the Chief wants to challenge my men for a duel."

"Captain, it's important to keep the locals happy, less you want them to turn into hostiles." He said. "As far as I know, they won't resort to a death match, they belittle outsiders too much, therefore, it will just be a duel."

"I'm worried about what our conditions will be, if in case whatever is out there comes to get us."

"They have healers there who can treat wounds in a matter of seconds." Sarutobi said. "And even I wouldn't like your team to battle against them, but the Chief himself has thought of it, so we have no choice. Remember that you're in their territory, they call the shots."

"Yes sir." He ended the call and looked at his team. "Don't let me down, guys."

"Whoo! Yes!" Naruto and Kiba gave each other a high-five as Kakashi turned to the Chief.

"Well, Captain Hatake?"

"Our leader has agreed." He bent the rules a bit. "Provided it does not kill off my team, and if they will be wounded badly, I request the assistance of your healers – shamans to be precise."

"That not a problem, Captain." The Chief nodded. "This not a fight to the finish, and our healers will heal your men, no worry."

"Very well Chief, but please, tell us, what are… the conditions?"

The Chief eyed his men and then turned to Kakashi. "Rules simple," he said. "The warriors will first tell what they want in beginning before battle start, and if he win, he get what he want."

"It does sound simple…" Shikamaru said. "But the thing is: what if they ask for something we can't give?"

"That's not what I'm worried about." Sasuke said, noticing how some of the warriors had kept their eyes on the three medics.

"What else should we worry about besides that?" Lee asked.

"_Who_ they want," Sasuke answered with narrowed eyes. "They've apparently taken a liking to our medics."

"To not tire both sides," the Chief spoke once more. "It will be three battles, meaning three warriors on my side, and three warriors on yours." He smiled. "Choose wisely, Captain Hatake."

"Good to hear." Shikamaru murmured. "I'm not much of a fighter."

"Alright boys," Kakashi called for his team, also keeping the medics close after hearing Sasuke's comment earlier. "Who will it be?"

"I wanna go for it!" Naruto said.

"Me too!" Kiba exclaimed.

Kakashi sweat dropped. "Anyone..?"

Shikamaru shook his head, and so did Shino, while Lee instantly raised his hand in the air.

"No Lee, your wounds haven't healed completely, I can't allow you to battle."

"…Yes sir."

"So then, Shino, you sure?"

Shino looked at their would-be opponents. "Positive."

"Erm… Neji?"

"Pass." He said. "I'm a better sniper."

"Then…" he looked at Sasuke.

"No. Way."

"Sasuke, Kiba, and Naruto will have to battle."

"Alright!" Both Kiba and Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke just glared. "I'm not here to play."

"Don't treat it as a game," he glanced at the opposing side. "I'd feel better knowing that there's at least a non-idiot fighting."

"Ch. Even if I win, one of them will have to win."

"…I forgot about that." Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "Too bad Lee's injured…" He murmured.

"Hey! I can so kick ass!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Me too!"

"Well, Naruto, you can go and fight first."

"YES!"

"Sir..?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief.

"Sasuke, Kiba," he called the two in a hushed voice. "Observe Naruto's fight and see what you can pick up from the warriors, afterwards, use it to your advantage."

"No problem sir!"

"Hn."

"Well Captain Hatake?"

Kakashi looked at the Chief and had his three chosen soldiers step forward.

The Chief stepped aside and let his own chosen warriors step into the light. They stood tall and held their heads high, and already, Kakashi's team was pretty pissed at how they were being belittled.

"_Looks __like __the __Captain __of __the __warriors __decided __to __take __a __whack __at __us.__"_ Kakashi thought while eyeing the tallest man of the three. _"__I __wonder __who __he__'__s __targeting__…"_ he looked at his own soldiers. _"__Naruto..? __Kiba..?__" _He looked back at the Captain to see where his narrowed eyes were focused. _"__No, __it__'__s __Sasuke __he __wants __to __take __down.__" _He forced back a chuckle. _"__Even __on __another __area, __Sasuke's __being __targeted.__"_

"Would you like fight to be one on one, or until warrior lose?"

Shikamaru called Kakashi's attention. "Sir, pick the second option, it's our best bet."

"What makes you say so?"

The genius of the team raised a brow. "You're betting Naruto, Kiba, and Sasuke. Who do you think among the three would have a sure win against them?"

Kakashi blinked and soon got what Shikamaru meant. "So Naruto goes first, and then Kiba, and Sasuke will be our trump card."

"Exactly."

"Chief," he looked back at the village leader. "I prefer the fight to be until all warriors lose."

"Very well."

The people gathered around the small but large enough arena.

"To avoid deadly injury, weapons not allowed."

"I agree…" Kakashi said, sweat dropping. _"__I __wouldn__'__t __like __it __if __Sasuke__'__s __using __a __knife __or __a __gun __against __a __village __warrior__…"_ he pictured a scene wherein weapons were allowed, and he could see Sasuke either shooting the floor his opponent is standing on non-stop or perhaps giving a lot of small and shallow cuts just for provoking. With a sigh, he glanced at the raven-haired soldier, seeing his eyes blank as always. _"__He __really __lives __up __to __the __call __sign __of __**Reaper**__.__"_

"You may choose your first warrior, Captain Hatake."

"Archangel."

The blonde soldier stepped in after discarding his guns, grenades, clips, and knife.

"Akrah!"

The shortest of the three warriors stepped up. He had long dark hair that reached above his waist, and he had them in dreadlocks, with a few feathers from the birds of the island on his head.

"State your wish!" The Chief announced.

Akrah gave an intimidating sneer. "Her."

Naruto looked at where his opponent was pointing and immediately reacted violently.

"Are you crazy? No way will I let you take Hinata!" He yelled.

"Your wish, soldier?" the Chief said.

"Fine! If I win, you can't take Hinata! You can't pick her again either!"

"_Ch. __Idiot.__"_ Sasuke sighed. _"__He __should __have __just __said __they __can__'__t __take __any __one __of __us __if __he __wins.__"_

"Alright then little one, come and fight." Akrah taunted.

Naruto twitched at the insult and raised a fist, ready to punch the tall warrior, but the man just dodged to the left and swiftly moved behind Naruto to kick the blonde's back.

"Come on Archangel! Show him what you've got!" Kiba cheered.

Naruto coughed out blood as he fell on all fours.

"_Fuck! __That __kick __was __harder __than __Lee__'__s __own!__"_ He looked back at Akrah with a glare. _"__But __I __have __to __win! __Hinata__… __Hinata__'__s __at __stake __here!__"_ He got back up and spat blood. "That all you got?" And he even forced a grin to provoke the man.

Akrah gave a low laugh and spoke in their native language. "He has spirit but he is stupid."

The villagers laughed at that, and Naruto knew it was an insult.

"Whatever you just said," he pointed at Akrah. "I'll make you take them back!" He ran once more, taking into consideration that his enemy moves faster than he does, and that unlike any battles he's been on before he became a soldier, this Akrah guy was something compared to the ones he defeated, and that only fueled him to do better.

Akrah blocked the punch, so Naruto chose to knee his stomach, managing to land a successful hit and make the warrior double over. He then stomped onto the warrior's bare foot with his combat boot clad one, remembering that the only rules of the fight were to not use weapons and not to kill.

His enemy said something in his native language, and Naruto could bet it was a cursed word.

"Heh." He wiped the blood off his lips. "Did I hurt you?"

He said another sentence Naruto didn't understand.

"To hell with whatever you just said…" he muttered. "Let's finish this!" He ran in zig zag motions, seeing how Akrah easily followed his movements, so when Naruto was getting close after running to the right, Akrah punched to the left to meet Naruto's face, but the warrior didn't think it was a strategy, for the blonde didn't go to the left too soon, and instead, just stuck to the right and reached behind Akrah to return the full-force kick he received earlier.

Akrah was sent all the way to the other side of the arena, and Naruto didn't waste a second by running towards him and sending his elbow down at Akrah's stomach, the force knocking the wind out of the warrior, as well as causing the villager to faint.

Kakashi's jaw dropped at what had happened. He didn't think Naruto would come up with a strategy. At all.

"YEAH! YOU GO ARCHANGEL!"

Naruto turned to his cheering teammates and raised a fist in the air while grinning.

"Next to battle is Totumka." The Chief said, a frown on his face upon seeing Akrah lose to Naruto.

The blonde soldier looked at his next opponent, seeing how he was about one head taller than Akrah, and that his build was a lot bulkier than Akrah or the Captain of the warriors. He had a headband around his forehead which held a few small animal bones, and also large feathers. He looked bald, save for the small ponytail at the lower back of his head.

"_Oh __crap.__"_ He narrowed his eyes in hopes of hiding his worry. _"__I__'__ve __dealt __with __thugs __bigger __than __this __guy, __but __they__'__re __not __trained __for __fighting, __nor __are __they__…"_ he flinched when the kick he got from Akrah earlier made him stagger a bit._"__Shit. __That __kick __hurt __a __lot __more __than __I __thought.__"_

His blue eyes looked at Totumka who was sniggering at him. "Akrah kick good."

"Like hell."

"Akrah give powerful blow, whether punch or kick." He leered down at Naruto. "Back hurts, right little one?"

"No it doesn't!" He flinched when he moved. _"__Yes, __it __does. __A __lot.__"_

Totumka chuckled. "Then I will remind you of pain, yes?" He cracked his knuckles. "I strongest warrior of island."

"Oh?" Naruto forced a grin. "I," he purposely spoke in wrong grammar. "Most unpredictable warrior."

"Show me, little one!" Totumka charged at Naruto, who moved to the left but ended up tripping from the sudden pain of his back. "My wish is for him," he pointed at Kiba. "To no longer participate the next round!"

"They can do that?" Kiba yelled.

"Oh yeah? Then my wish for this round is to cancel that wish!" He rolled to the side to avoid a kick from Totumka, and tried to get back up on his feet.

Totumka anticipated this so he did a somersault kick, doubling the pain that Naruto felt on his back.

"Archangel, come on!" Kiba yelled.

The native warrior grinned wickedly at the fallen blonde soldier and straddled him, forcing Naruto to stay down due to the heavy weight of Totumka.

"Give up now."

Blue eyes glared at the warrior. "Screw you." He tried to get back up by pressing his palms against the surface of the arena they were on, yet Totumka grabbed both of the soldier's wrists and pulled them back, making Naruto's chin hit the floor, causing him to cry out from the painful impact.

"N-Naruto!" Hinata cried out, worried for him.

He gritted his teeth in hopes of stopping himself from crying out in pain when Totumka pulled his arms back. "Give up little one." He taunted. "You just have to admit defeat."

"I. Said. No!" He struggled in order to get Totumka off, but the man was just too huge and well-built for him to push off – especially since both his arms were held back.

"Then I break arms to make you yield."

Kakashi was alarmed at that declaration and quickly ran near the edge of the arena. "Naruto! Give up! Give up now or he'll-"

"I am not a quitter!" Naruto said out loud, and with one strong thug from Totumka, an awful cracking sound reached their ears, and the warriors all cheered at that right after the soldier's loud scream.

"You fucking bastard!" Kiba quickly jumped towards the arena right after Totumka got off of Naruto who lay there, his arms limp from the grave injury they received from Totumka. "I'm gonna-"

"I win, you no allowed to fight." Totumka reminded with a smug look, causing Kiba to halt and glare.

"Rules are rules Kiba." Shikamaru said, though he was fuming at what Totumka had done. "We agreed to what they said in the beginning – they obviously planned this."

Kiba nodded once in understanding, though he wasn't happy with it, and was reluctant in doing so.

With a silent order from Kakashi, both Kiba and Sasuke walked over to Naruto to help the blonde up.

"I'm sorry…" Naruto murmured to his teammates, head lowered and refusing to look at them. "I've… I just…"

"He provoked you." Sasuke said. "Besides that, we didn't expect him to wish for something like that."

Kiba frowned. "Sasuke, it's up to you now."

"I know." His eyes narrowed as Kakashi took Naruto from him with Kiba's help. "I'll make sure they'll regret ever challenging us, and doing this to you." He said the last part to Naruto, afterwards, straightened back up and glanced at his other teammates.

"You next victim?"

Sasuke's fists clenched at what Totumka said. He then started to remove his gun holsters, pull out his combat knife, and pass out his grenades to Neji. He then faced Totumka who sniggered.

"Ready for pain?"

The warrior walked towards him when he didn't move or say anything.

"Are you scared..?"

He lowered his head slightly at that.

"Come on then, my wish this time is-" he got cut off when a combat boot met his left cheek, immediately sending him to the ground after Sasuke's roundhouse kick.

Chief Barlrog was astounded at the speed the soldier possessed that he glanced at his own Captain, seeing the warrior alarmed as well.

The moment Totumka had got back up on his feet, he let out a loud growl and turned to face Sasuke, only to receive a punch on his face which made him stagger backwards, but that wasn't the end of it, since the dark-haired soldier continued his assault.

He punched Totumka non-stop, hitting the man's face repeatedly and then mimicked what he had done to Naruto earlier – somersaulting to send his heel at the back of Totumka's head, forcing the man to fall to the ground face first.

The attack didn't stop there, and the Chief was taken aback when Sasuke stepped onto Totumka's back – the same area where Akrah had kicked Naruto, afterwards, flinched when the soldier had pulled back Totumka's arms.

"Who cares about your fucking wish?" Sasuke raised his head slightly, and his teammates knew the glint in his eyes – they weren't the normal calm ones, but rather, something they'd like to call the eyes of death.

Kakashi knew it was wrong to be happy that this round goes to them, especially with Sasuke's current state, but given what the native has done to Naruto, he supposed it was alright this time, and that this reaction was to be expected.

"_That __guy __has __a __thirst __for __vengeance __when __it __comes __to __those __who __have __hurt __his __teammates.__" _He bit his lower lip. _"__It__'__s __one __of __the __reasons __why __his __call __sign __is __Reaper.__"_

"I just wish you won't be healed after this fight." And the people heard a crack like the one earlier, but this time, the loud cry of pain came from Totumka.

Sasuke stepped away from Totumka who was continuously wailing and turned his cold gaze at the Captain who stood next to the Chief.

"Your turn."


	7. Inner Turmoil

**SWAT Delinquents  
"**_**Inner Turmoil"**_

* * *

Chief Barlrog looked at his Captain. "Rahtah," he narrowed his eyes. "Your warriors have failed me, make sure you don't." He said in their own language.

"Yes Chief." Rahtah said, afterwards, gestured at his other men to take the wounded Totumka. "As you have wished," Rahtah spoke in a loud and low voice as he walked forward. "Totumka will not be healed." He stopped when he was at least twelve feet away from Sasuke, choosing to keep a safe distance from the soldier after seeing how fast he moved earlier. "State your wish for this round, warrior."

Sasuke maintained eye contact, which made Rahtah smirk slightly at the soldier's boldness.

"Well warrior?"

His eyes widened at the sudden movement Sasuke made that he quickly jumped back. He felt a bead of sweat trickle down his face when he recalled the feeling of a light breeze grazing his face earlier, and he looked up to see Sasuke's stance of that who just delivered a supposed to be powerful and painful kick.

"You're lucky you dodged that." He lowered his leg. "That could have left you paralyzed." And he gave a smirk that made Rahtah stiffen.

"Warrior…" He managed to say. "What do they call you?"

Sasuke's smirk faded to a frown. "My name, or my title?"

"I wish to know both."

"Then you'll know if you defeat me." He got into a defensive stance, knowing that this is a fight he shouldn't rush since he felt Rahtah's acknowledgement of his capabilities, and he had to return that respect.

"Very well," Rahtah raised both his fists. "Your wish?"

"That you and your people, including your Chief, do what we say."

"Done." And he charged at Sasuke who raised an arm to block a kick.

Sasuke flinched when he felt how painful the impact would have been if it got to his face, and he had to keep his eyes sharp if he ever wants to match Rahtah's speed. _"He's a lot faster than Lee."_

Team Shinobi and their medics watched in suspense as the battle went on, Rahtah throwing blows which Sasuke blocked, and the soldier sending hits that Rahtah dodged.

As five minutes passed, both fighters jumped away from each other in order to recover for a bit, knowing how they wasted energy just from delivering fast attacks and evading the opposing side's assaults.

Sasuke knew that Rahtah wasn't Captain for nothing, and he could bet that the guy was someone who can't be taken down easily. It was either he gets lucky in hitting the guy to weaken him, or manage a strong and powerful attack that could render the native unconscious.

Whichever, both options weren't even near fifty percent of success.

On the other hand, Rahtah knew that Sasuke can be taken down if he can time his movements perfectly, but the soldier's reflexes were fast, and the warrior couldn't help but feel both excitement and anxiety. Rahtah had to admit that Sasuke could very well be his equal, if not a level higher.

"_No one has ever matched my level of combat." _Both had thought with narrowed eyes locking onto each other.

"From the way you're breathing hard and staggering a bit, I'd say you're tired."

Rahtah twitched. "Your last attack slower…" he countered.

"Hn." Sasuke wasn't one for admitting defeat, but he didn't really like lying to someone who was worthy of respect. "Draw?"

Rahtah nodded once. "Draw."

And that caused both sides to be shocked.

For one thing, team Shinobi knew that Sasuke hated losing, much less being tied to someone. As for another thing, Chief Barlrog can confidently say that Rahtah dislikes having an equal, and that the Captain of his warriors only opted for winning or losing, no in-betweens.

"Rahtah! What is the meaning of this?" The Chief yelled in their own language.

The tall warrior just gave Sasuke a small smirk and replied to his Chief without breaking eye contact from the soldier. "Given my current state and his, the fight will only last longer without anyone winning or losing." He nodded once to Sasuke. "My wish, young warrior?"

Sasuke shook his head but smirked none the less. "Uchiha Sasuke, title given is Reaper."

Rahtah nodded. "As you wished, we obey what you and your team says."

* * *

"What the fuck was that all about? A draw?" Naruto hissed while nursing his healed arm, yet there was still a bit of pain. "You don't do draws! And you hate losing too!"

Sasuke just removed his military vest and jacket, sighing heavily at how warm it was after the fight a few minutes ago. "It's called a wise decision." He muttered. "We've been fighting too long, and I'll only tire myself out if I keep forcing myself." He sat down next to the blond soldier and stretched his arms. "And my sprain was telling me to stop."

"...Well, you're right." Naruto murmured. "Calling a draw was probably the best option."

"Hn." He looked over at Rahtah. "That guy is too good."

"...Thanks anyway." He said, looking elsewhere. "B-But don't think I owe you!"

He smirked and hit the back of Naruto's head. "Next time, don't be an idiot."

"Let me see your arm."

Both men looked up to see Sakura's hands on her hips and glaring at Sasuke.

"Ah... I think I hear the Captain calling." And Naruto stood and left the two.

"...Traitor." Sasuke mumbled, before pulling off his right glove as Sakura sat before him and held his hand gently. "It's fine."

"So it is." She lightly added pressure onto his wrist, causing him to flinch. "On the outside at least."

"Ch."

She took out a bandage and wrapped it up. "This is to remind you not to go overboard."

"...Hn."

She picked up his glove and slid it onto his hand, careful not to cause his sprain any pain. "Hey..."

"What?"

"If... you were in Naruto's position earlier, and... the enemy wished to... well, have me..." her cheeks turned a bit red as she continued to look at his hand that was still in hers. "...What would you have done despite the odds being against you?"

He stared at her for a long while, and the silence was making her nervous.

"It... it was just a question, forget about-"

"I'd continue fighting." Her head lifted to meet his gaze, and she was surprised when his fingers enclosed on hers. "Until I win and undo that wish."

"Despite the odds against you?"

"Aa." His grip tightened a bit. "It doesn't mean I can't use my legs or-"

Sakura slapped his shoulder, and he is surprised to see her crying. "Don't be a suicidal idiot, Sasuke..."

And for the first time in along a while, he gave a small smile, and he lowered his gaze. "Geez. You're such an annoying woman." And he pulled her towards him as she continued crying.

"I was worried about you, you bastard!" She cried out, her grip on his shirt tightening while their intertwined fingers still remained enclosed on each other. "Don't ever do that again!"

He let his free hand pat her head lightly, before stopping atop her head and then stroking her hair in a comforting manner, the small grin still in place. "I can't promise you that if you're involved."

"Idiot... you're such an idiot..."

"You make me do things idiotic."

She pulled away and furiously wiped her tears with her free arm, but her eyes continued to let the droplets run.

"Stop crying, it's..." he lowers his gaze. "It's making me want to hug you, damn it."

She hiccupped when she laughed lightly, and then leaned against him once more. "Then do so, you idiot."

* * *

He blew at a stray strand of hair that fell over his eyes before looking at his teammates, observing what each was doing.

Kiba had already slept earlier, while Shino sat a few feet away from his lying form, staring at the campfire. Neji was cleaning his rifle adjacent to Shino, with Lee also taking a nap a few meters away. His blue eyes searched for the others, and he could see their team Captain discussing something with Shikamaru while holding onto a few papers and a large map spread across the table they discussed on, their wooden goblets lay next to them, no longer filled with water, while their plates only had the bone remains of the meal the Chief had offered to them.

He looked down at his own plate, barely able to finish the "mystery meat" as he'd like to call it, and he wished he brought some cup noodles instead. He turned back to the group, seeing Neji take a break from cleaning his rifle in order to finish his half-eaten meal, and he had to snort at how Kiba's plate was _clean_, and that included Lee's.

"Naruto?"

He blinked a few times before looking to his side to see Hinata emerge from the tent where the female medics would sleep.

"Oh, hey Hinata." He grinned at her as she took a seat next to him. "What's up?"

"I just finished reading Sakura's notes." She said with a small smile. "Ino's already asleep."

He quirked a brow. "And Sakura is..?"

She flushed lightly and poked her index fingers together. "Um... where's Sasuke?"

Naruto stared at her for a few moments before looking around the campsite. He spotted a few patrolling villagers, some of them nodding and waving to him at that, but no sign of his comrade-slash-best-friend.

"...are they... together, together?" He asked slowly, turning to Hinata.

"I'm not sure." She shook her head. "When Sakura lent me her notes earlier, Sasuke came by and said he wanted to have a word with her, they haven't been back for... a while."

"Oh... oh." He flushed. "Um... yeah... uh..."

"N-Naruto!" She also blushed. "I don't think they're doing what you're thinking!"

"E-Eh? I'm... I'm not... but... eh..."

She shook her head and tried to rid of unwanted images plaguing her head. "Well, I don't doubt that they could be... hugging..."

"Making out?"

She flushed. "Do all guys think that way? What if they're just... walking or... just talking and..."

"...Sasuke does not do walks or talks."

"But Sakura wouldn't just... do something like... make...out..."

"Eh... well, I'm stumped as to where they are and what they're doing then."

"Um... so... you don't seem to like the food here."

"It's okay." He shrugged. "I still prefer noodles."

"I didn't even touch mine," she shook her head. "I tried giving it to the dogs discreetly, but they just sniffed at it and walked away."

"Picky eaters."

"Well, they did eat earlier, so they must have still been full."

"Huh. So what did you eat?"

"Sakura packs her own meal all the time, so she shared some."

"...Come to think of it, Sasuke didn't touch his either, he _did_take a bite when Rahtah urged him to try the food."

"Well, it would explain why Sakura brought her packed meal with her when he asked for her."

"...Dinner date?"

"M-Maybe, but... they aren't in... _that_ kind of relationship, right?"

"Who knows? That bastard isn't the most talkative of the bunch."

"Yeah, even Sakura won't say anything when Ino tried asking her about Sasuke." She hugged her knees together. "She just smiled and asked what we thought."

"That bastard didn't bother to say anything when I asked."

"...So... are they?"

"I _think_ they are."

Crunching leaves from behind them caused the pair to turn their heads, and they spotted a mop of pink and black hair emerging from the forestry area of the village.

"Teme?" Naruto blinked, and then scowled. "Hey! We aren't supposed to-"

"Kakashi told me to." He answered, ruffling his dark hair a bit, his goggles lying around his neck.

"...You're both a mess." Naruto pointed out, seeing his more than unruly raven hair, and Sakura's tangled locks and wrinkled shirt. "Hell no!"

"What?" Sakura asked with a tilt of her head.

"Ch. Don't be a pervert you idiot." He bopped Naruto's head on the way. "Rahtah mentioned something about an odd-looking skeleton somewhere, so I checked it out after telling Kakashi, and since I had no idea what to make of it, I asked Sakura if she could help me out."

"Why didn't you ask me? I'm bored sitting here and not doing anything!" He looked at Hinata. "Well, was bored."

"Dobe." He grunted. "If I didn't know what it was, what makes you think you would?"

"...I could?"

"Ch." He looked over at Sakura who sighed heavily. "Thanks, get some rest."

"Yeah, but I doubt I'll be able to sleep." She shut her eyes and cradled her chin with her thumb and index finger. "Those were very odd bones."

He placed a hand on her head. "Don't think about it right now and get some sleep."

"Fine..." she held back a yawn and looked at Hinata with a smile. "Sorry for worrying you, we didn't notice the time."

"Oh, it's alright." She stood and walked alongside Sakura as they head back to their tents after bidding the two male soldiers a good night.

"...So teme..."

"Hn."

"You and her?"

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Hn."

"Er... the skeleton, what did it look like?"

"It had a larger than normal skull, but not at the shape of most... aliens you see on TV."

"Okay..."

"The spine was pretty long too, and the thing only had about three fingers and a pair of large feet."

"I think it's an alien."

"Dobe." He grunted and sat down next to the blond.

"Well it COULD be an alien…"

"Or something went wrong during the human's development stage."

"That too… but…" he pursed his lips. "Gah! Teme!"

He quirked a brow when Naruto grabbed his shirt's collar and shook him.

"Are you and Sakura together?"

His brows furrowed slightly as he processed Naruto's question, and after a few seconds of silence, he grabbed Naruto's wrists and pulled them down, forcing the blond soldier to let go of his shirt.

"Well?"

Sasuke straightened out his top and turned towards the campsite, afterwards, gave a light smirk and shrugged.

"That is not an answer teme!"

* * *

"Why do you want to know so badly?" She asked as she pulled her hair over her shoulder and combed through the tangles with her fingers, flinching when some knots refused to untangle.

"Because..!"

Hinata merely shook her head and gave a tiny smile to the blond medic. "And here I thought you had already fallen asleep."

Ino pouted and then gave a sly grin. "With your hair and shirt so messy, I'd say you two got a wee bit carried away."

Sakura's face turned red as she turned to face Ino. "W-We did nothing of the sort!"

"And what do you think was I implying, eh Sakura?"

"W-Well… I… something not good!"

"So you're saying you did not enjoy it?"

"No- wait, what are we talking about again?"

Hinata just sighed and lied down on her cot, pulling the blankets over her body as her eyes closed.

"Come on Sakura! It's obvious there's something going on between the two of you."

"…There's nothing but friendship?"

"Feh, yeah right." Ino rolled her eyes and then tackled the pink haired girl to the ground, her hands moving to pull down her shirt's collar, ignoring Sakura's protests. "Aha!" Ino pulled back and pointed at Sakura's left shoulder, a smug smirk on her lips as her blue eyes recognized a hicky – or love mark as some would call it. "There's proof right there!"

Sakura sighed and placed a palm over her forehead. "Ino… this place has a lot of insects – God knows why I got bitten there."

"Don't kid me! I promise I won't tell! Heck, even Hinata wouldn't dare say anything about you and Sasuke!"

"Ino, there is NOTHING going on between us, okay?" She stood up from her spot, one hand carrying a toothbrush and toothpaste, while the other held her comb. "Look, I'll tell you myself if there is, okay?"

Ino still did not look like she was going to let the issue go, even when Sakura had already explained why Sasuke called her. The only thing that was even close to romantic was her sharing her packed meal with him, and probably the fact that it was just the two of them under the moonlit night, even if it was to investigate, the walk could have been considered romantic – what with Sasuke being Sasuke and all.

"Geez… even I'm a bit frustrated…" she murmured as she walked out of the tent, ignoring Ino's exclamation of "I heard that!"

Sakura checked the whole site, seeing Kakashi and Shikamaru still discussing a few things, and then spotted Neji and Shino already asleep. Her ears picked up the loud voice of Hinata's current apple of the eyes, and she almost laughed at how Naruto was near to strangling Sasuke, while the raven-haired soldier tried to swat the younger one's hands away.

Feeling a yawn coming, she trudged towards the nearby lake, letting the sound of the waterfall guide her to where it is, all the while hoping that she'd recall the way back.

"Ugh… with Ino's questioning, I forgot to bring my flashlight."

"Yeah, way to go genius."

She jumped and almost screamed had a hand not covered her mouth. Her widened eyes closed as a sigh of relief came from her lips when the hand was lowered.

"Geez Sasuke! Don't scare me like that!"

He shrugged half-heartedly, his way of apologizing, before shedding some light onto her.

"Oh, thanks." She smiled and peered behind him. "Er… weren't you with Naruto?"

"He annoyed the hell out of me."

"I'm surprised he let you off."

"He saw you and let out a lewd grin."

"Ugh. Even him?"

"Hn." He looked to the side as she turned and knelt down on the ground, afterwards, began to brush her teeth.

Her words were muffled all the time, and he had to look at her as if she had two heads. When she finished rinsing her mouth, she stood and faced him. "Don't you agree?"

He blinked, stared, and after a short while, snorted. He lifted a hand up to cover his mouth when his shoulders began to shake, and soon, he was pretty much laughing.

Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink upon hearing his laugh – it was probably the rarest moment that only a few people have encountered.

"I did not understand a word you just said." He said after a while, ruffling the back of his hair a bit before letting out a tiny smile. "But whatever you say."

Sakura couldn't help but wonder why people keep thinking that there's something there, that there's even a possibility that she and Sasuke are more than friends.

"It's funny…" she said in a soft tone as her gaze lowered a bit. "I mean…" a small smile made its way to her lips as she thought about Ino's words, and how she felt like wanting to make the others' assumptions true, but this was Sasuke – his actions can't be mistaken for anything but that. "They keep thinking that there's something between us when there's nothing."

He did not respond to her words, but she preferred it that way.

"Seriously, it's like they have no idea who you are." She sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm not that much of an idiot to even think that… well, you and me…"

She wanted to see how he reacted, but she was also afraid of seeing his expression, so she kept her eyes closed.

"Yeah…" she turned her back to him to face the lake, the soft sound of falling water the only company they have other than each other. "It's not possible for that to happen."

"…You think so?"

She was even surprised that he had responded with a question, but she still refused to look at him, to let him see the emotions in her eyes.

"…Yeah." She gave a light nod to support her answer. "So… maybe we can just… keep our distance a bit, let's remain… friends…" she trailed off to fight back what she felt were incoming tears. "So... shall we-"

Her eyes widened when she felt her back against his chest, and his arms around her waist.

"Sasuke..?"

He closed his eyes when the scent of her hair intoxicated his nostrils yet again.

"…Um…" she shakily raised her hands, unsure if she should cling onto his arms or pull them away.

He still kept silent, as if waiting for her to react, so react she did – she pulled away from him and turned to face him, the words she was about to say died down upon seeing the soft yet intense gaze his eyes held.

She couldn't describe how he looked right now – but the way his eyes were half-closed and looking at her, the way his aura seemed a bit toned down and mellow, and the way his hands rested on his sides…

…he looked like he wanted something to happen between them.

She bit her lower lip and looked down, one hand rising to hide her embarrassed face, while the other covered her mouth to prevent a sob from escaping when tears just escaped from her eyes.

It was already too much – hiding and suppressing her emotions, keeping it all bottled up…

And then he had to go and embrace her like a lover, and even dared to look at her with such a face she never knew he had.

"I want us to be more than that."

She lifted her head to look at him, her tears continuously flowing as her eyes met his.

"I don't want to be just friends with you."

She felt her brows knit as more tears continue to pour down – should she be relieved?

"So no." He said. "I'm not going to agree with you."

Was it even possible that he already knew her feelings from the beginning?"

"Whether you like it or not," he clenched his fists and stepped closer to her. "I'm going to make you fall in love with me."

And she did not expect him to pull her into his arms and harshly place his lips on hers.

It was really a short kiss, but to them, it felt long…

"…Idiot…" she murmured and peered at him beneath her pink bangs. "I've already fallen in love with you from the start." And she closed the distance between their lips.


End file.
